Author: agcnews
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land and Odessa, Texas Have Worst 15-Month Construction Job Losses; Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. and Fargo, N.D.-Minn. Top Lists of Metros with Job Gains Construction employment declined in 91 metro areas and was stagnant in another 24 between February 2020, the last month before the pandemic, and May 2021, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government employment data released today. They said the high number of metro areas losing construction jobs during that time frame reflected the impacts of early pandemic shutdowns and more recent challenges procuring construction materials and finding qualified workers to hire. “The devastating job losses of early 2020 and more recent materials and labor challenges since then have kept industry employment stagnant or lower this May…
Filings Now Due on August 23, 2021 The deadline to submit and certify 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data HAS BEEN CHANGED. The new filing deadline is NOW Monday, August 23, 2021. After delaying the opening of the 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 Data Collections on May 8, 2020, in light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the opening of the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection on April 26, 2021. The EEO-1 is an annual survey that requires all private employers with 100 or more employees and federal government contractors or first-tier subcontractors with…
Images readily available for editorial use showcase women and people of color in construction to increase visibility in industry media coverage The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and Autodesk today launched the Construction Diversity Image Library, a collection of photographs for use by the media featuring diverse individuals in the construction workforce. The library will launch with an established collection of images and as part of the initiative, organizations from across the design, engineering and building industry are invited to contribute additional photographs. In both 2019 and 2020, the annual workforce survey conducted by the AGC and Autodesk identified a steady and unfulfilled demand…
On June 22, AGC of America’s Federal & Heavy Construction division met with the Pre-Command Course for incoming District Commanders of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. AGC and the Army Corps discussed solutions to the challenges facing our nation’s infrastructure and how the Army Corps can better partner with the construction industry. AGC emphasized the strain contractors are facing with construction materials at record high prices and the continued availability challenges. AGC urged District Commanders to partner with AGC Chapters and member contractors back in their district offices, and also providing government guidance encouraging such meetings. AGC looks forward to continuing its decades…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently requested public input on company disclosure of information associated with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and climate change risks, impacts, and opportunities. In response, AGC’s June 11 letter to agency offered key principles for the SEC to consider: 1) support of voluntary and flexible, market-based disclosures; 2) adherence to the Supreme Court’s “materiality” standard and existing rules; 3) base disclosures on sound data and a workable framework for companies of different sizes and industries; and 4) set boundaries on the scope of reporting and limits on legal liability. Broadly speaking, President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14030, Climate-Related Financial…
On June 23, Democratic House Leadership announced it will attach $168 billion in water and wastewater infrastructure legislation to the $547 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill for a vote on the House floor the week of June 28. Combined water related elements of the bill will provide: Wastewater Infrastructure: $51.25 billion Drinking Water Infrastructure& Assistance: $117 billion For more information, contact Alex Etchen at alex.etchen@agc.org or Allen Gray at allen.gray@agc.org.
On June 23, a bipartisan group of senators announced an agreement on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure framework with the White House. The framework—found here —includes $579 billion in new spending to rebuild America’s roads and bridges, improve public transit systems, invest in broadband infrastructure, and upgrade our airports. While this plan does appear to have bipartisan support, the path forward remains unclear, as Speaker Pelosi announced that she would not move similar legislation in the House until the Senate passed both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and partisan reconciliation infrastructure bill. In addition, there are a significant amount of details that have yet to be…
The Small Business Administration (SBA) intends to withdraw the “Loan Necessity Questionnaire” that has heavily burdened and delayed all applications for forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $2 million or more. AGC sued SBA last December for developing the form entirely in secret, and without public input, and for using the form to change the de facto requirements for the forgiveness of such loans. During lawsuit settlement negotiations, AGC learned of SBA’s decision to withdraw the questionnaire. Recently, AGC has also received an exceptionally large number of reports about SBA approving these loans for forgiveness. This is excellent…
Learn more at July 20-22 virtual conference, free to AGC members The Biden Administration reinstated the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Social Cost of Carbon (or Greenhouse Gases, SC-GHG) and set a deadline to publish final values by Jan. 2022. Currently, the SC-GHG values are used by federal agencies in decision-making and cost-benefit analyses of new rulemakings. The IWG chose the Obama Administration’s values as an interim measure. AGC joined a coalition to provide substantive recommendations to the IWG on the steps ahead to ensure a clear and transparent process with full engagement. The coalition urged the IWG to keep the focus…
Learn more at July 20-22 virtual conference, free to AGC members A recent Executive Order on climate risk demonstrates the priority the Biden Administration is giving to climate change and appears to be accelerating efforts by federal financial regulators to adopt new, climate risk-related regulations. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requested public input on company disclosure of information associated with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and climate change risks, impacts, and opportunities. AGC’s June 11 letter offers key principles for the SEC to consider: 1) support of voluntary and flexible, market-based disclosures; 2) adherence to the Supreme Court’s “materiality” standard and existing rules;…