Author: agcnews

Eleven families who lost their homes during last year’s tornadoes in western Kentucky were presented new transitional housing today thanks to the efforts of the local construction industry and other community groups. Construction firms belonging to the Associated General Contractors of Western Kentucky as well as the Bread of Life Humanitarian Effort helped construct, furnish and supply the new housing. “There was no way our members were going to let our neighbors languish in hotels after losing their homes,” said Joel Crider, the workforce coordinator of the Paducah-based construction association, who oversaw the recovery. “Instead, they used their skills, their…

More than 700 conference attendees gathered at a recent American Bar Association (ABA) Fidelity and Surety Law annual meeting to share insights and information on the “Construction Document Toolkit: The Documents Behind the Decisions.” ConsensusDocs’ Executive Director Brian Perlberg and Adam Tuckman, a construction and surety law attorney at Watt Tieder LLP, gave an overview of ConsensusDocs and some of the key differences with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) A201. ConsensusDocs’ recently updated performance and payment bonds also were featured prominently at the plenary educational session. Of particular interest to the audience were the ConsensusDocs performance and payment bonds.…

Once consideration of Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) environmental permitting reform bill was removed from the government funding bill, it easily passed the U.S. Senate and is expected to pass in the House as well. After weeks of promises on environmental permitting reform, it appears nothing substantial will be passed anytime soon. You may recall AGC first reported about environmental permitting reform legislation introduced by Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and then later about similar legislation from Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.). The latter was supposed to be included as part of a government funding bill but there were insufficient votes in the U.S. Senate. Once…

AGC’s lawsuit against the federal vaccine mandate is fast-tracked, as a nationwide halt to the mandate’s implementation is limited by another court. AGC of America’s Construction Advocacy Fund-backed lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas challenging the federal contractor vaccine mandate is moving forward. It had been on hold since December 2021 pending a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. That decision from the 11th Circuit came on August 26, when that court limited the scope of a nationwide injunction halting implementation of the mandate to only the plaintiffs in that particular case. Based on that…

Construction firms added 16,000 jobs in August, according to an analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said their newly released survey, conducted with Autodesk, showed contractors are eager to hire more employees but are being stymied by a dearth of qualified workers. “Nonresidential construction activity is growing but contractors universally report difficulty hiring as many workers as they need,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “With the industry unemployment rate hovering below 4 percent, finding qualified applicants is sure to remain a major challenge.” Read more.

Total construction spending decreased by 0.4 percent in July as spending on new houses and apartments tumbled, overshadowing a pickup in private nonresidential and public construction, according to an analysis the Associated General Contractors of America released today of federal spending data. Association officials said their newly released survey, conducted with Autodesk, showed labor shortages and supply chain problems are limiting their ability to complete projects, likely undermining total construction spending levels. “There were gains for the month for nearly every private nonresidential category, along with a jump in highway and transportation work,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But our…

91 Percent of Construction Firms Having a Hard Time Finding Workers to Hire, Driving Up Costs and Project Delays, New Survey by the Associated General Contractors of America and Autodesk Finds Construction workforce shortages are affecting nearly all construction firms, undermining the industry’s ability to complete projects on time and on schedule and threatening the success of new federal investments in infrastructure and manufacturing, according to the results of a workforce survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America and Autodesk. The results underscore how public officials have a vested interest in investing in new construction-focused workforce development programs, association officials…

Construction employment increased in 250 or 70 percent of 358 metro areas between July 2021 and July 2022, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. But association officials cautioned that most construction firms report they are struggling to find enough qualified workers to hire, according to a survey the association and Autodesk will release Wednesday. “It is good to see construction employment top year-ago levels in more than two-thirds of the nation’s metro areas,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “However, the record number of construction job openings at the end of June…

On April 8, the Department of Labor (DOL) / Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the first-ever national emphasis program (NEP) on heat-related hazards in the workplace would go into effect immediately. The NEP set a goal for the agency to double the number of workplace inspections related to heat. The NEP identifies the general duty clause, Section (5)(a)(1) of the OSH Act, as the mechanism to cite employers for heat-related hazards if all criteria to support such a citation are met. Those criteria are as follows: To help AGC further engage with OSHA regarding concerns with the NEP,…

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…