Author: agcnews

On Feb. 27, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released for public comment a draft of its general permit to regulate stormwater discharges from most industrial activities. Construction companies that perform activities associated with cement or concrete manufacturing, asphalt paving, minerals mining, or landfill operations will all likely be impacted by changes to EPA’s Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP). The MSGP applies where EPA is the permitting authority and sets the standard for related general permits issued by states. AGC is working with a coalition to submit comments to EPA in advance of the deadline. EPA will take comments on the draft MSGP…

On Feb. 24, AGC CEO Steve Sandherr, along with other national business leaders, spoke at a press briefing on the need to streamline the environmental review process for projects that require federal approval in order to unlock American investment in modern, efficient infrastructure while advancing good environmental stewardship. On Feb. 25, AGC presented the same message at the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) public hearing on proposed regulations out for public comment that would update the rules implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The proposed NEPA reforms would set shorter timelines for completing environmental impact reviews as well as clear up ambiguous wording and definitions…

On Feb. 26, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed H.R. 5912, the Expedited Delivery of Airport Infrastructure Act of 2020. This AGC-supported legislation would ensure that Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds can be used to provide incentive payments to contractors for early completion of eligible projects. Early completion incentives allow owners to identify projects that provide significant public benefits that would be enhanced if the project were completed earlier. Rather than the owner agency establishing unrealistic completion dates, which could discourage some contractors from bidding on those projects, incentive payments allow contractors to determine how best to earn the incentive. AGC…

There’s still a short time left to register for AGC of America’s upcoming Collective Bargaining Seminar. The half-day seminar will take place in the morning of March 9 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The seminar is part of AGC’s Annual Convention, but AGC members and chapter staff not attending the convention may also attend. The seminar will cover legal, practical, and strategic considerations for management-side negotiators. Attendees will enhance their knowledge and skills by learning about collective bargaining laws, best practices in preparing for and conducting negotiations, communication skills, and more. The seminar is designed for beginners,…

AGC of America on Feb. 4 released a white paper titled The PRO Act: What Union Contractors Need to Know. The PRO Act is a bill that would make vast, transformational changes to labor laws and upsets the delicate balance of rights and restrictions established over decades by the NLRB, courts, and Congress. While the union-favoring legislation presents obvious concerns for open-shop contractors, union contractors may not realize the detrimental impact it could have on them. As the white paper explains, the bill would change the entire landscape of organizing, bargaining, and employer-employee rights. It has the potential to cause significant…

March 11, 2020, at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino Are you a Construction HR professional looking to enhance the HR function at your company? Join your peers at the AGC HR Summit on March 11, 2020, in conjunction with the AGC of America Annual Convention in Las Vegas (convention registration not required to attend HR Summit). Register now and don’t miss out! The one-day HR Summit provides a forum for greater peer-to-peer learning and interaction by facilitating an intimate series of moderated roundtable discussions. Select topics are chosen in advance by the HR Forum Steering Committee, and participants will have the opportunity to bring…

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently announced the release of its new technical assistance guide created specifically for construction contractors. OFCCP intends for construction contractors to use the technical assistance guide as a self-assessment tool to review the practices they have in place to eliminate discrimination and achieve their equal employment opportunity goals. Some of what contractors can find in the new construction technical assistance guide are, but not limited to: OFCCP helps federal contractors comply with the law and understand OFCCP’s compliance evaluation process. The hope is that the release of OFCCP’s new construction technical…

On Jan. 31, 2020, The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. This new version contains minor changes to the form and its instructions. Employers should begin using this updated form as of Jan. 31, 2020. USCIS provides employers additional time to make necessary updates and adjust their business processes. Employers may continue using the prior version of the form (Rev. 07/17/2017 N) until April 30, 2020. After that date, they can only use the new form with the 10/21/2019 version date. The version date is located in the lower left corner of the form.…

OFCCP recently announced the release of its new Contractor Compliance Institute (CCI), an on-demand learning management system designed to help federal contract holders meet their equal employment opportunity obligations. OFCCP created the CCI curriculum specifically for federal contractors, furthering its commitment to provide meaningful compliance assistance. Federal contractors can take free CCI courses to learn and develop skills to help them comply with their nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements. By taking CCI courses, contractors can: OFCCP has committed itself to providing proactive, meaningful compliance assistance to help contractors understand and meet their equal employment opportunity obligations. The hope is that the release…

Construction-industry collective bargaining negotiations completed in 2019 resulted in an average first-year increase in wages and fringe benefits of $1.67 or 2.9 percent, according to the annual year-end Settlements Report issued by the AGC-supported Construction Labor Research Council (“CLRC”). Despite “a well-documented shortage of craft workers, this modest rate of growth in employee compensation indicates that the worker shortage is not putting strong upward pressure on pay,” observes CLRC. “In fact, the 2019 first year average percent increase was no higher than [in] 2018.” In the pre-recession era of 2006–2008, average negotiated increases topped 4.0 percent per year. That said, CLRC also…