Members' Edge - January 23, 2020

AGC News

Registration Now Open for AGC of America Convention

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=599228&issueID=69062 to view the full article online.

Don't Miss the AGC Scholarship Deadline!

Attention AGC Houston members! Applications for the Patrick J. Kiley Excellence in Leadership Scholarship are now open! The AGC Houston scholarship program has awarded over 168 scholarships totaling $512,000 to students pursuing construction-related careers.

The deadline to submit your application is January 31.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=599229&issueID=69062 to view the full article online.

AGC TBB Focuses On Special Elections And Primary Races

Although the 2020 primary season does not officially kick off until March, three seats in the Texas House will be filled this month, as candidates from both parties square off to fill positions vacated by Democrats. Early voting for the January 28 elections began on January 21.

AGC Texas Building Branch highlights the state's political landscape here.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=599230&issueID=69062 to view the full article online.

AGC Of America Notes Construction Outlays Rise In November

AGC of America's Chief Economist Ken Simonson released a full report on the construction industry's year-end outlook and projections for 2020.

According to the Data Digest newsletter, construction employment rose by 20,000 for the month and 145,000 (2.0%) year-over-year (y/y) to 7,551,000, the most since October 2007. Average hourly earnings in construction rose 2.3% y/y to $31.11, 9.9% above the average for all private-sector employees ($28.32, a 3.1% y/y increase). The unemployment rate in construction, not seasonally adjusted, dipped from 5.1% in December 2018 to 5.0%, and the number of unemployed jobseekers with construction experience inched down from 493,000 to 489,000 — the lowest December levels in the 20-year history of both series.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/pdf/datadigest20200110.pdf to view the full article online.

News you can Use

AGC Member State Rep Appointed As Chairman to Powerful Sunset Advisory Commission

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=599314&issueID=69062 to view the full article online.

OSHA Adjusts Penalty Amounts for 2020

The Inflation Adjustment Act requires the Department of Labor to annually adjust its civil monetary penalties to adjust for inflation no later than January 15 of each year. This final rule increases civil penalties the Department of Labor assesses, including those issued by OSHA based on workplace inspections and potential violations of safety and health standards.

Employers who have open and ongoing OSHA inspections can expect that any citations issued by OSHA after today will reflect the increased penalties.

The new 2020 maximum OSHA penalties are as follows:

Other-than-Serious: $13,494 (increased from $13,260)
Serious: $13,494 (increased from $13,260)
Repeat : $134,937 (increased from $132,589)
Willful: $134,937 (increased from $132,589)

Visit https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/01/15/2020-00486/department-of-labor-federal-civil-penalties-inflation-adjustment-act-annual-adjustments-for-2020 to view the full article online.

AGC Houston Supports 2020 Census

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/hca-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=599313&issueID=69062 to view the full article online.

How Robots are Changing the Construction Technology

Investors injected $3.1 billion into technology startups last year as a way to solve construction industry problems, Jennifer Alsever writes. That investment in technology from scheduling software to robots leads to difficulty in getting construction crews from foremen to frontline workers on board, she notes.

Visit https://fortune.com/2019/11/23/construction-industry-robots-ai/ to view the full article online.