Happy New Year! Thank you for your continued support of the Builders Association. We don't want you to miss a thing, so if your firm has not yet remitted its 2015 dues, please do so by January 31. Questions may be directed to (773) 444-0465 or info@bldrs.org.

We wish all of our members a very prosperous 2015!

Thanks to the many members and colleagues who joined us on December 4th at the Drake for our annual BuildersConnect event. Attendees enjoyed catching up with one another during the cocktail reception before sitting down to a fantastic meal in the gorgeous Gold Coast room.

The National AGC Safety Awards (NASA) program has been an ongoing effort since 1991 to offer AGC members an opportunity to evaluate their safety records. NASA compares an AGC member’s safety record with other AGC members according to the member size and construction type. Additionally, NASA provides a great opportunity for contractor members who have excellent safety records to compete for nationally recognized awards.

We have completed our most recent Construction Salary & Benefits Survey based on data submitted by area commercial companies.

The Builders Association will host its first Construction Leadership Council event on Thursday, February 5, 2015. The CLC is structured as a conduit for participants to network, exchange ideas about work and the industry, and obtain continuing education including both professional development and leadership skills.

The National Labor Relations Board has issued a final rule revising union representation case procedures to unions’ advantage. As anticipated, the final rule is nearly identical to proposed rules issued in February 2014 and in June 2011. The rule is published in the Dec. 15, 2014 issue of the Federal Register and is due to take effect on April 14, 2015. AGC and AGC-supported coalitions opposed the rulemaking and are exploring efforts to block implementation.

As of January 1, 2015, a change to what covered employers are required to report to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is in effect. Employers are now be required to report all work-related fatalities within 8 hours and all in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye within 24 hours of finding out about the incident.

Under the categories of uncertainty, security and optimism, FMI asked panelists about some knowns and unknowns from the last quarter of 2014. A few commented on the political nature of the questions, not immediately seeing FMI's tie-in with the purpose of its Index, that is, to gauge industry executives’ outlook on business prospects and issues at a given time.

On Dec. 16, AGC submitted comments to OFCCP in response to its proposed rule prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against employees who disclose compensation. The rule is in response to Executive Order 13665, signed by President Obama in April 2014. It applies to federal and federally-assisted contracts and subcontracts, as it amends Executive Order 11246.

The next cycle of the four-unit BIM Education Program in the Chicago area will begin on Friday, January 23 and conclude in March. This AGC curriculum program is a "must" for all firms involved in Building Information Modeling.

"Personal Success for Project Managers" will be held from 7:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. on Friday, January 30th, while "Top 10 Risky Items Every PM or Superintendent Should Know" will take place the morning of March 6. Be sure your company doesn't miss out on these educational opportunities.

The Foundation's Board of Directors recently invited six university students from the Fall 2014 pool of Scholarship applicants to personally interview with the Board in the final step of the selection process. The Builders Scholarship Foundation Board was again highly impressed with the caliber of students from our region currently studying civil engineering and/or construction management.

The Builders Education & Training Foundation is pleased to partner with Mechanical Contractors Association to offer their training resources to our members at a reduced cost. "How to Nail Project Interview Presentations" will be taught on Thursday, January 15th.

A joyous welcome to the newest members of the Builders Association:

Ardmore Associates, LLC
Contractors Access Equipment, Inc.
Duane Morris LLP

We congratulate The Lombard Company on the article about the firm that was included in the Magazine for Professional Engineers last month!

For the month of January, AGC is offering 20% off and FREE shipping for three Human Resources in Construction products.

Please note that last November the IRS published Notice 2014-69, in which they detailed their initial, long-awaited response to health plans that do not provide hospitalization and/or physician services.

On Tuesday, December 9, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the time workers spend waiting to undergo and undergoing security screenings is not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). According to Justice Thomas, writing for a unanimous Court, the security screenings at issue were not the principal activities the employees were employed to perform and were not "integral and indispensable" to those activities.