Author: Crystal Yates

AGC recently joined the H-2B Workforce Coalition in a letter to Congress urging the inclusion of meaningful H-2B cap relief in the Fiscal 2027 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill by exempting from the annual cap H-2B workers employed by certified seasonal employers that have used the program reliably in the past and are committed to maintaining a legal workforce. The program’s congressionally mandated cap of 66,000 visas is inadequate to meet the seasonal needs of small businesses. The supplemental visas authorized by Congress and made available by the Department of Homeland Security under its current authority have been helpful,…

AGC will kick off Earth Week with a town hall to help make sense of carbon reporting within the context of construction. AGC’s Climate Change Working Group co-chairs—Fernando Arias with HITT and Julianne Laue with JE Dunn—will delve into a new AGC resource “Carbon Reporting Flow Charts.” The flow charts present questions and considerations on carbon emissions data organized by the commonly used “scopes” framework developed by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Reserve your spot on the town hall for Monday, April 20, 2026, from 2:00-3:00PM ET. The town hall will explore: Town hall participants will receive an advance copy of the “Carbon Reporting Flow Charts,” which AGC will…

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is requesting feedback on the Nationwide Permits (NWP) program, which allows types of activities with minimal impacts on water resources to move forward without a time-consuming individual permit. At the urging of AGC of America and coalition partners, the Corps renewed the NWPs before they lapsed and provided this opportunity to explore improvements. The Corps is seeking specific and general feedback on the NWP program. The NWPs began as a streamlining tool for the Clean Water Act section 404 dredge and fill/wetlands permitting. Over the decades, administrations have made the program more complex with…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on March 6, 2026, issued a ruling in Brown-Forman Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board. Consistent with the position taken by AGC and coalition partners in an amicus brief in the case, the court held that the bargaining order standard established by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) in its controversial 2023 Cemex decision was invalid. The Brown-Forman case arose after employer Brown-Forman, owner of Woodford Reserve distillery, implemented a “velvet glove” strategy to discourage workers from supporting a union representation campaign, including promising an across-the-board raise, loosening vacation restrictions,…

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) announced that they will make an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for Fiscal Year 2026. All of these supplemental visas will be available only to those American businesses that are suffering or will suffer impending irreparable harm, i.e., those facing permanent and severe financial loss, as attested by the employer. These supplemental visas will be distributed in three allocations based on the petitioner’s start date of need through the end of the fiscal year. The H-2B program allows U.S. employers who meet specific regulatory requirements to…

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that, effective May 11, 2026, the Executive Order 13658federal contractor minimum wage rate will increase to $13.65 per hour. This adjustment follows the March 14, 2025, revocation of Executive Order 14026 (which set a $15 indexed rate) by President Trump, which reinstated the lower, indexed wage floor from EO 13658. The $13.65 rate applies to federal contracts and subcontracts entered into between Jan. 1, 2015, and Jan. 29, 2022, that were not renewed or extended on or after Jan. 30, 2022. The new rate does not apply to federal contracts and subcontracts entered into after…

Photo credit: AndreyPopov via Getty Images

Following years of litigation, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is scheduled to publish 2016–2020 demographic data for approximately 4,500 “objecting” contractors. The release is the result of a long-standing FOIA request by the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR). While many contractors filed objections claiming the data was “confidential commercial information,” the courts ultimately ruled that high-level demographic totals do not reveal trade secrets or cause competitive harm. OFCCP is releasing the remaining data through its online FOIA Library, where it will be available as publicly searchable and downloadable files. Prime government contractors and first-tier contractors with 50 or…

On Feb. 17, AGC of America submitted comments (and coalitioncomments) in support of proposed reforms to the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 process for States and Tribes to review and add conditions on federal water permits. The proposal advances several AGC recommendations to clarify the process and ensure it stays on track. Importantly, it focuses the review on the discharge—not the project as a whole. These conditions currently can impose a host of unrelated requirements that add complexity, specialized staff, and delay to projects. Section 401 review serves an important function to ensure discharges to federal waters, authorized by…

Register for ConsensusDocs’ February 24 webinar to understand the latest twists in progressive design-build. Progressive design‑build (PDB) is gaining momentum across the construction industry as owners and project teams look for delivery methods that encourage early collaboration, cost transparency, and greater flexibility. From the federal government authorizing the use of PDB for military construction in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, to the soon-to-be released Progressive Design Build Agreement from ConsensusDocs, PDB is in the news. Contractors looking to better understand these developments should plan to attend ConsensusDocs’ upcoming webinar, Progressive Design-Build: Concerns, Opportunities, and Latest Twists, on February 24,…