Author: agcnews

It’s got a long name that belies its intent to streamline the process of getting things done. Constructor sat down with one of its architects to get some details on its content and the AGC collaboration that’s helping move its ideas forward. WRITTEN BY A.D. THOMPSON FOR CONSTRUCTOR MAGAZINE Limited delays. Efficient reviews. Reforms that the members of AGC of America have long recommended. They’re the core principles of The Building U.S. Infrastructure through Limited Delays & Efficient Reviews (BUILDER) Act, legislation championed by Rep. Garret Graves(R-LA). The bill was included as part of H.R. 1 – the Lower Energy…

On August 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a proposal to amend its regulation authorizing which individuals can serve as representatives of employees and employers during the physical inspection of a workplace. OSHA’s stated purpose is to clarify the right of workers and certified bargaining units to specify a worker or union representative regardless of whether the representative is an employee of the employer, even in the absence of a recognized collective bargaining agreement. OSHA contends that the current regulation explicitly allows walkaround participation by an employee representative who is not an employee of the employer. However, their interpretation conflicts with…

Revised rule continues to follow principles rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court As anticipated and reported by AGC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (agencies) revised their earlier 2023 definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) on August 209. The agencies are calling it the “conforming WOTUS rule” – reporting that it conforms to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency decision that struck down key aspects of the 2023 WOTUS rule. On the contrary, AGC and its coalition partners (see summary) find that the revised rule does not adequately comply with Supreme Court…

Construction employment increased in 226 of 358 metro areas between July 2022 and July 2023, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. Association officials said demand for many types of construction remained strong in most parts of the country, but firms still have hundreds of thousands of unfilled construction positions. “Demand for construction projects remains strong nationwide and most metros have continued to add construction jobs in the past year,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But there were 378,000 unfilled job openings in construction at the end of July, which suggests that…

AGC to Provide Educational Webinars on September 26 & October 3 The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service have published a notice of proposed rulemaking providing more information on how to satisfy the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements (PWA) for enhanced tax benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This is the second round of guidance and request for input. Treasury and the IRS previously provided guidance on the PWA requirements in 2022, to which AGC submitted extensive feedback. In today’s announcement, Treasury and IRS advise that generally, these new proposed rules provide guidance to taxpayers intending to claim the increased credits or…

On August 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) formally convened the Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel, also known as a “SBREFA” panel, on a possible heat standard. The panel provides Small Entity Representatives (“SERs”), that meet the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) size standards, with an opportunity to review OSHA’s proposed approaches to regulating heat exposures in indoor and outdoor workplaces. As part of the review process, SERs will inform the agency of the potential impacts the proposal will have on the small business community as well as offer alternative approaches. OSHA will host several SBAR panel videoconferences between September…

Termination for cause is costly and adversarial and has been covered in this article. But can a terminating party use equipment and tools left behind on the worksite (i.e., a crane)? The answer depends on what is in your contract. Under ConsensusDocs, a constructor must give its permission to use any equipment or supplies left at the worksite, such as a crane.[i] Moreover, the owner must indemnify the constructor for using their equipment. This makes sense because even if a constructor were appropriately terminated for cause, using their equipment and materials they no longer possess or control unfairly creates additional liability exposure. At…

Curious about the latest labor regulations? The U.S. Department of Labor’s wage determination process has a new rule coming into play on October 23, 2023. The Davis-Bacon Final Rule brings significant changes while retaining some key elements. The Davis-Bacon and related acts mandate that federal and federally assisted contractors pay prevailing wages, along with meeting enforcement and record-keeping requirements. This comprehensive 700-page rule reverts to a pre-Reagan era definition of prevailing wages, lowering the threshold from 50% to 30%. The new rule also consolidates various past rules and guidance into a single set of clear directives for contractors to follow,…

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has updated its substance use disorder webpage. AGC members that work on construction projects under contracts with the federal government – which are typically covered by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 – might find the information and resources there particularly useful. Other contractors might also find some of the resources helpful for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a recent announcement about the update, OFCCP stated: Under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 503), individuals with substance use disorder (including alcohol) may be considered qualified individuals with disabilities if they…

In an ever-evolving digital landscape, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has given employers a new option for verifying employment eligibility. On July 21, 2023, the USCIS announced a final rule, effective August 1, 2023, that allows employers to have an alternative procedure (also referred to as “permanent virtual verification”), whereby qualifying employers may inspect employees’ Form I-9 documentation virtually as opposed to performing a physical verification, which was required for all new hires until the COVID-19 exception was created in March 2020. This innovative approach aims to modernize the process of employment eligibility verification while ensuring compliance…