Author: agcnews

AGC has been tracking several regulatory actions relevant to construction that may be advanced in the last weeks of the Trump Administration. AGC considers below what has recently been released and what remains to be completed, as well as, which actions may be vulnerable to change during a Biden Administration. What Can Reasonably Be Accomplished on Trump’s Regulatory Agenda in the Time Remaining? The Trump Administration continues to push forward with a full regulatory initiative as seen in its Unified Agenda, released on December 9. AGC is tracking several rules and guidance, some of which are at the Office of Management and Budget…

The EEOC has released COVID-19 vaccination-related guidance, including information about employer-mandated vaccinations for employees. The guidance can be found in the EEOC’s existing resource on COVID: What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws. The new COVID-19 vaccination-related guidance answers the following questions: ADA and Title VII Issues Regarding Mandatory Vaccinations ADA and Vaccinations Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and COVID-19 Vaccinations In response to inquiries from the public, the EEOC has provided resources on its website related to the pandemic in an employment context. AGC will continues to…

On Dec. 8, AGC filed suit against the Small Business Administration (SBA), seeking to compel the agency to restrict its use of the “Loan Necessity Questionnaire” now going out to all companies seeking forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans over $2 million – and ultimately, to compel SBA to revise the form itself. The details lie in the thirty-page complaint that AGC filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. AGC recognizes that SBA has every right and even an obligation to ensure that companies were eligible for the PPP loans they are now asking SBA to forgive. But AGC…

On December 14, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), of which AGC is an active member, filed comments supporting the Department of Labor’s proposed rule on financial disclosure reports that unions annually must file with the Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. The proposed rule would expand the disclosures that unions must report on Form LM-2 and would require larger unions to file a new Forum LM-2 Long Form. While the comments suggest a number of revisions to the particulars but encourage adoption of the rule in general. They note that the Department took advantage of a decade of experience and technical advancement since…

Now with more than 660 episodes and averaging 115,000 listeners, The Peggy Smedley Show is ranked as the No. 1 IoT and digital transformation podcast. On this episode, Peggy and Brian Turmail, VP, public affairs & strategic initiatives, Associated General Contractors of America, talk about the impact of COVID-19 on construction. They also discuss: https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/17136227/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/be1e2d/

On December 8, the House of Representatives passed a compromise National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2021 (NDAA). This bill authorizes $8.4 billion military construction, family housing, and Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) cleanup activities. Earlier this year, AGC, along with a coalition of associations, sent Congress a list of over 130 priorities to consider for the NDAA. The bill is expected to pass the Senate. Some noteworthy provisions particular to construction contractors are: The defense bill is expected to be enacted into law this year, which would mark the 60th year in row. AGC will continue to work with Congress and advocate for further reforms…

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act’s (FFCRA) requirements that certain employers provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19 are currently set to expire on December 31, 2020. However, there are serious legislative negotiations ongoing that could potentially include an extension of FFCRA paid leave. Any extension would have to be done legislatively and could be included in either a federal government funding bill and/or COVID compromise bill before Congress adjourns this month. Speculation is that there could be a short-term extension into and/or through the first quarter of 2021.

On December 9, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury Department issued new guidance on the “Loan Necessity Questionnaire” that SBA is requiring borrowers with loans of $2 million or more to complete as they apply for loan forgiveness. The new guidance does not expressly disavow any intention to use this controversial form to change the rules in the middle of the game but it does provide that SBA will base its review of a borrower’s eligibility for a PPP loan on the borrower’s “individual circumstances” and “in light of the language of the certification and SBA guidance,” as required “at the…

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) announced that it has launched a new process for the public to request a formal opinion letter concerning Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) from the Commission. A formal opinion letter represents the Commission’s official position on the matter raised and reliance upon it may provide a defense to liability. A formal opinion letter is approved by a vote of the Commission and is signed by the Commission’s Legal Counsel on behalf of and as approved by the Commission. Members of the public may request a formal…

Industry Unemployment Hits Highest November Level since 2012 as Sluggish Nonresidential Building and Infrastructure Construction Lags, While Residential Employment Nears Pre-Pandemic Peak Construction employment increased by 27,000 jobs in November, as continuing robust gains in residential categories masked more sluggish increases in nonresidential jobs, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials cautioned, however, that pandemic-induced project cancellations and looming tax bills for firms that used Paycheck Protection Program loans to save jobs threaten to undermine future job growth in the sector. “The construction industry recovered a bit in November,…