Author: agcnews
Construction employment increased in two out of three U.S. metro areas between May 2021 and May 2022, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government employment data. Association officials noted that a lack of qualified workers kept employment down in many metro areas. “Construction employment has rebounded from post-pandemic lows in most metro areas,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But near-record low unemployment and historically high job openings show that employment would be even higher if enough qualified workers were available.” Read more.
AGC weighs in on SEC proposal to require privately held construction contractors to track and report emissions on construction projects for public companies. On June 17, AGC weighed in with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding an expansive proposed rule that would compel publicly-traded companies to disclose, annually, their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate related risks. AGC is concerned that this new reporting framework would lead publicly traded companies, and other owners, to mandate their privately-held construction firms track and disclose on-site (GHG) emissions and embodied carbon in building materials for construction projects. According to a recent survey, only 14…
When contracting for design-build, ConsensusDocs offers options. The ConsensusDocs 410 Design-Build Agreement [Cost of the Work with a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP)] is the most popular within ConsensusDocs. Contractually, the GMP is set by the ConsensusDocs 410.1 GMP Amendment. When should you set the GMP for a design-build project? Well, that depends. Parties should set the GMP as soon as there is enough design development as well as price and schedule certainty that the parties feel comfortable locking those terms into an agreement. When setting a GMP, users should note that the GMP, as spelled out by article 7, includes the cost of…
On June 21, 2022, the Biden Administration unveiled its Spring 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions mapping out federal agency priorities for the coming months. This bi-annual publication informs the public of regulations under consideration or planned by federal agencies. The present agenda includes several submissions by labor agencies. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) submission updates projected timelines for action already in progress of relevance to construction contractors, including Wage and Hour Division plans to issue a proposed rule revising the overtime regulations in October 2022 and a final rule updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts regulations in December 2022. While not…
DOL Proposes Changes to Davis-Bacon Wage Survey Report Form Thu, 06/23/2022 – 12:34 The U.S. Department of Labor is proposing changes to its “WD-10 Davis Bacon Wage Survey Report of Construction Contractor’s Wage Rates” form to help improve collection of data for determining prevailing wage rates. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has announced a notice of proposed revision to the “WD-10 Davis Bacon Wage Survey Report of Construction Contractor’s Wage Rates” form. WHD is proposing changes to the WD-10 in effort to improve the overall efficiency of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) survey process. The proposed…
AGC of America and five other employer groups jointly submitted an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on June 15 in support of a request for review of a Washington Supreme Court decision that prevents a company from recovering damages from a union that sanctioned destruction of company property. The issue in the case, Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union No. 174, is whether the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) preempts an employer’s state tort claim against a union for intentionally destroying the employer’s property in the course of a labor dispute. The case arose in the context…
Forty-three states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs during the past twelve months, but momentum slowed in May with only 22 states adding jobs, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released by the Associated General Contractors of America today. Association officials said the monthly employment gains lagged in May as contractors continue to cope with labor shortages and supply chain challenges. “Demand for construction appears to be outpacing the availability of workers and materials in many parts of the country,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “Contractors can’t add jobs if they…
Contractors’ bid prices for constructing new nonresidential buildings finally caught up with soaring costs for the materials and service they buy in May, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials cautioned that contractors will have a hard time keeping pace with additional price spikes for many key construction materials. “After enduring more than a year of runaway increases in the cost of items needed to build projects, contractors have finally raised their bid prices by an equivalent amount,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But the runup in materials costs…
On June 8, AGC sought clarification from OSHA on its enforcement of heat-related hazards under its National Emphasis Program (NEP). Due to the absence of specific guidance clarifying how compliance safety and health officers (CSHOs) will evaluate a contractor’s implementation of protocols to address heat exposure, fair and consistent enforcement will be significantly impacted across all regions. In addition, the NEP’s ambiguities may ultimately put workers at further risk of injury or illness. Based on AGC’s review and analysis of the NEP, it is unclear if following the principles of Water. Rest. Shade. under OSHA’s Heat Illness Prevention Campaign will be deemed acceptable. It also raises questions…
Environmentalists are pushing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to undertake a rulemaking to classify discarded polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) as hazardous waste under federal law and to revise the solid waste management guidelines on disposal of PVC. AGC filed comments on June 3 on 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…