Author: agcnews
In the latest installment of protracted litigation involving Browning-Ferris Industries (“BFI”) and the appropriate standard for determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 29 vacated a National Labor Relations Board decision in BFI’s favor. The standard is significant, as companies that are joint employers may be held jointly responsible for any unfair labor practices and collective bargaining obligations related to the jointly employed workers. In the overturned decision, the Board in 2020 – then under Republican control – held that BFI was not a joint employer with staffing company…
Component 2 Pay Data for 2017 & 2018 Reports Not to be Included The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is offering all federal government contractor organizations 30 days from today, August 19, 2022 (deadline September 19, 2022) to file written objections to the OFCCP’s anticipated disclosure of the 2016-2020 EEO-1, Type 2 Consolidated Reports. The Type 2 Reports include data for all employees of the company (i.e., all employees at headquarters as well as all establishments) categorized by race/ethnicity, sex, and job category. The OFCCP states that any disclosure will not include the Component 2 pay data that was required on the 2017…
NCAP to Launch with Educational Webinar on August 26, 2022 On August 26, 2022, OFCCP is rolling out a new portal for construction employers to use in identifying subcontractors that are awarded contracts valued at $10,000 or more. This portal will require prime/direct federal construction contractors as well as prime/direct federally-assisted construction contractors to enter information in the portal that identifies the subcontractor, including contact information, the contract value, estimated start and completion dates, the prime contractor’s information, and the place of contract performance. Prime contractors are encouraged to adapt their bid solicitation notices to put potential subcontractors on notice up front…
The U.S. Department of Labor did not violate the Davis-Bacon Act or regulations when the Department set prevailing wage rates based partly on wages from projects outside the relevant geographic area, held the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada in an Aug.11 opinion rejecting a challenge jointly brought by Nevada Chapter AGC, ABC Nevada Chapter, and Nevada Trucking Association. The dispute concerns wage determinations covering Nevada highway construction that the Department issued in 2018 following a statewide wage survey conducted by the Department in 2017. The Department’s internal guidelines in effect at the time required consideration of wage data for…
Construction employment in July continued to trail pre-pandemic levels in 15 states as contractors struggled to find qualified workers to fill openings, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America today. Association officials called on government officials to allow employers to sponsor more foreign-born workers and support more career and technical education to broaden opportunities for individuals to gain construction skills. “Although demand for projects is strong, there are too many states where contractors can’t find enough workers,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “The high level of openings and low unemployment…
The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, released the following statement in response to the release of new federal rules that will soon require procurement officials to impose project labor agreements for federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more: “Today’s proposed rules requiring procurement officials to impose project labor agreements for federal construction projects will prevent most contractors from bidding and will harm the disadvantaged firms that contracting rules are meant to help. Read more.
The Senate voted in line with AGC to overturn the Biden administration’s onerous NEPA rule to restore certainty for the construction industry and the environmental permitting process. On August 4, the United States Senate approved on a 50-47 vote a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the Biden Administration’s NEPA rule. AGC supports overturning this onerous NEPA regulation because doing so would restore certainty for the construction industry and ensure that infrastructure projects are not needlessly delayed without jeopardizing important environmental protections. The joint resolution, championed by Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), included the support of every Republican senator and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). AGC previously reported on…
On August 8, AGC submitted comments in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed revision to the rule implementing the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 certification process, which provides for state review of federal CWA licenses or permits. The proposal rule if finalized would replace the 2020 rule that is currently in effect and would expand the scope of state and tribal reviews. The proposal goes beyond prior interpretations of the statute and includes many “firsts” that stretch the scope of the review beyond Congressional intent. The proposal would require states and tribes to evaluate “the activity as a whole”…
Trusting that your fellow contracting party will act ethically and in good faith is essential. Aligning the parties’ interests with the project’s success creates the right foundation to build successfully. Setting the right tone and expectations between party relationships is one of the reasons that ConsensusDocs contracts have been used on construction projects worth more than $50 billion but have yet to be the subject of a reported court decision. In most but not all states, a duty of good faith in contract performance is implied by the courts. Notwithstanding, the very first provision in all ConsensusDocs agreements explicitly states…
Prices of Concrete Products and Some Building Materials Continue to Rise, While Diesel Fuel, Asphalt, Lumber and Some Metals Fall in Month of July The price of materials and services used in nonresidential construction fell 1.3 percent last month, while contractors’ bid prices rose 5.4 percent, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials noted that, despite the monthly decline, materials prices remain high and the availability of certain key materials erratic. Read more