For the 11th year in a row, AGC of America has been named as one of the nation’s top lobbying operations by Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill. The publication’s annual ranking of top lobbyists lists AGC CEO Steve Sandherr as a top lobbyist. Sandherr said the listing is a really an acknowledgement of the quality of the association’s government relations team, noting that the team secured $7.6 billion in federal highway funding that Congress had planned to cut, a disaster aid package with billions of dollars dedicated to rebuilding impacted communities, and regulatory reforms to lower the bureaucratic burden on the industry, among other accomplishments this year. You can read The Hill’s article and find the complete rankings here.

OSHA requires crane operators engaged in construction activity to be certified by an entity accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency. CIC no longer holds such accreditation. To avoid industry confusion and potential disruptions of construction projects, OSHA has issued an enforcement policy for crane operator certifications issued by CIC.

 

The policy explains that, although CIC-issued certifications are not compliant with OSHA’s operator certification requirement, OSHA does not intend to cite employers for operating equipment that violates that requirement if their operators, in good faith, obtained CIC-issued certifications prior to December 2, 2019, with the belief the certifications met the standard’s requirements. Until further notice, OSHA will not accept CIC certifications – including re-certifications – issued on or after December 2, 2019. For more information, please contact Kevin Cannon at (703)837-5410 or kevin.cannon@agc.org.

 

The U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) released a final rule updating the regulations governing regular rate requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for the first time in more than 50 years. Regular rate requirements define what forms of payment employers include and exclude in the "time and one-half" calculation when determining workers' overtime rates. The rule focuses primarily on clarifying whether certain kinds of perks, benefits, or other miscellaneous items must be included in the regular rate. Because these regulations have not been updated in decades, the Department’s intent is to better define the regular rate for today's workplace practices.

 

Construction employment increased by 1,000 jobs in November and by 146,000, or 2.0 percent, over the past 12 months, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said recent modest monthly increases in industry employment likely reflect the difficulty contractors are having in finding workers rather than a letup in demand. Officials urged federal officials to pass the JOBS Act and boost funding for career and technical education programs to help ease labor shortages.

 

When it comes to employee fraud, contractor Carol Duncan has seen some doozies in her career. Once during a peer review, Duncan discovered that the financial statements of the other construction firm were not being completed in a timely manner and "excuses were plentiful."

Now more than ever, workers on jobsites are enjoying greater comfort thanks to technological advances in workwear materials and employers who notice that the best gear for safety is not one-size-fits-all

Incentives are meant to motivate employees and encourage desired behavior. However, implementation is key, and sometimes even the most well-meaning programs struggle.

Harsh weather conditions can be a challenge for bridge construction and renovation projects, in more ways than one. Both concrete and steel bridges are susceptible to corrosion from water and waterborne contaminants, which can impact their service life. This means selecting the best waterproofing solution is crucial. However, knowing what to look out for when selecting a waterproofing system isn’t always easy.

 

The gap is widening in skilled trade workers. More than 53 percent of skilled construction employees in the United States are 45+ years or older. Two million jobs are expected to be left unfilled by 2025 due to the growing skills gap and 86 percent of commercial builders are having trouble billing hourly and salaried positions.