Author: agcnews
President Biden ended 2022 with a bang by signing two new pieces of legislation into law that will impact many employers and their pregnant and breastfeeding workers: (1) the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and (2) the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). These changes were part of the Omnibus Spending Bill signed into law on December 29, 2022. Employers should become familiar with the changes and review their policies and practices to adjust for the new laws.The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act The first change, made by the PWFA, provides additional protections to pregnant workers. The…
According to the latest Contractor Compensation Quarterly (CCQ) published by PAS, Inc., construction support staff wages are to rise by an average 4.5%. The prediction is based on data gathered from over 209 companies in the 19th edition of PAS’s Construction Support Staff Salary Survey. This is up from the actual increase of 4.4% for 2021. Looking forward, PAS thinks 2023 support staff increases will likely mimic 2022 activity, unless construction conditions change. Additionally, according to PAS’s 2022 Benefit Survey, more firms have improved their benefit programs than have reduced them. In 2022, the percentage of firms improving their benefit programs was…
On Jan. 18, the Associated General Contractors of America joined a coalition representing a broad cross-section of the economy in filing a lawsuit to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers’ new Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule. The legal action seeks to have the new rule put on hold and ultimately reversed. The construction industry invests a significant amount of time and cost in compliance with the Clean Water Act and to avoid or reduce potential impacts on the environment. The new rule is the sixth time the requirements have changed in seven…
The Associated General Contractors of America joined with a range of employer groups representing a broad cross-section of the economy in filing a lawsuit yesterday to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers’ Waters of the U.S. rule. The organizations noted that the new measure violates the Clean Water Act, the Administrative Procedures Act and the U.S. Constitution’s Due Process and Commerce Clauses. “Just because a piece of land occasionally gets wet doesn’t make it a navigable waterway,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “Try as it might, the administration cannot redefine…
In a decision issued on Dec. 16, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board reinstated its prior standard providing off-duty workers employed by contractors more expansive rights to access publicly accessible areas of the workplace for the purpose of engaging in union organizing activity. Part of a wave of decisions overturning Trump-era precedent, the Board’s ruling in Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation d/b/a Tobin Center (“Bexar II”) prohibits property owners from excluding contractors’ employees who wish to engage in organizing activity on the worksite unless the activity “significantly interferes with the use of the property or where exclusion is justified by another…
Plunging prices for diesel fuel, lumber, and steel cooled inflation for materials and services used in construction in December, but relief may be short-lived, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials noted that contractors listed material costs as one of their top concerns in a survey the association released this month. “While producer price indexes for construction inputs fell in December, they still outpaced other inflation measures for the year,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “In addition, some prices have already turned higher in January. Contractors are right to rank materials…
New guidance instructs federal agencies to develop implementation rules that would quantify greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and incorporate the social cost of carbon in cost/benefit analysis that could impact permits for construction projects. On January 6, the White House Council on Environmental Quality issued new interim guidance to instruct federal agencies on how to factor greenhouse gas emissions and climate change into National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews that come into play on many infrastructure projects where there is a federal nexus (e.g., federal action, funding, or permit). The guidance directs agencies to assess and mitigate climate change impacts across the lifetime…
On January 12, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sided with AGC in tentatively denying an environmental group’s effort to force contractors to dispose of discarded PVC as a hazardous waste. On June 3, AGC was the only construction organization to publicly oppose a proposed consent decree that would settle the lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity in D.C. federal court, saying EPA unreasonably delayed responding to CBD’s 2014 petition that asked the agency to regulate PVC under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under the proposed “sue and settle” agreement, EPA promised to decide within nine months whether to move forward with…
Construction firms added 28,000 employees in December and continued to raise wages for hourly workers more than other sectors as the industry’s unemployment rate fell to a record low for the month, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government data. Association officials said the data align with their newly released survey, which found the majority of contractors are optimistic about demand for most construction types, despite reporting difficulty filling positions. “There are more people working in construction today than ever before, and those figures are likely to continue to increase,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief…
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that the $15-an-hour minimum wage for federal contractors under Executive Order (EO) 14026 will increase to $16.20 for 2023 because of inflation. AGC filed comments on the DOL’s original proposed rule implementing the EO. Workers covered by the EO are: Executive Order 14026 applies to new contracts, and renewals and extensions of existing contracts, beginning Jan. 30, 2022. For more information, contact Claiborne Guy at claiborne.guy@agc.org or 703-837-5382 or Jordan Howard at Jordan.howard@agc.org or 703-837-5368.