The fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act includes a provision that would require contracting officers to consider violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) as part of the responsibility determination process prior to award of DoD contract. The provision ultimately gives contracting officers the ability to debar a construction contractor on a contract-by-contract basis with little cause. Prime contractors will also be responsible for evaluating violations of subcontractors at all tiers. AGC’s regulatory counsel authored an article earlier this year on the full impact of the provision.

Early in September, Congress averted a fiscal showdown at the end of the month by passing a short-term funding bill through Dec. 8 that included a down payment on disaster relief and raising the debt ceiling. Congress must still work to pass a bill that funds the government for the full 2018 fiscal year. The House did finish considering all 12 annual appropriations bills, the first time in more than a decade that the House has passed all 12 bills before the end of a current fiscal year.

AGC Submits Recommendations

AGC submitted testimony to the House Small Business Committee at a hearing entitled "Expediting Economic Growth: How Streamlining Federal Permitting Can Cut Red Tape for Small Businesses." AGC took the opportunity to urge Congress to implement reforms to the federal environmental review and permitting process. Time and money is wasted on redoing project analyses and reviews and on collecting duplicate information from permit applicants. AGC included its flow chart of environmental permits to illustrate some of the regulatory hurdles that contractors must overcome.

September 18, 2017 | 2 - 3:30 p.m. ET
Free to AGC Members and Nonmembers

On September 23, 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will begin to enforce their respirable crystalline silica standard for the construction industry. Join the AGC of America Safety & Health staff and other industry professionals on Sept. 18, 2017 as they take a deeper dive into complying with the new standard in the webinar, "OSHA's New Silica Standard for Construction: Are You Equipped to Comply?" There will also be time for questions and discussion after the presentation.

Thursday, September 21, 2017
WebEd: BIMForum BxP Series: Coordination & Origins, Getting The Point Across The Team!
2 to 3 p.m.

Monday, October 2, 2017 to Wednesday, October 4, 2017
AGC Advanced Safety Management Training Course
Arlington, Virginia

Tuesday, October 3, 2017 to Thursday, October 5, 2017
The International Construction and Utility Equipment Exposition
Louisville, Kentucky

Thursday, October 12, 2017
WebEd: Profitable Reality Capture for Construction
2 to 3 p.m.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017 to Friday, October 13, 2017
Construction HR & Professionals Training Conference 
Phoenix, Arizona

Wednesday, October 18, 2017
WebEd: Creating a Marketing Plan That Drives Results
2 to 3 p.m.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017
WebEd: Lean Safety: Improving your Safety Culture with Lean Management Tools
2 to 3 p.m.

California & Rhode Island Add Most Jobs for the Year; Iowa Has Largest Percent and Total Drop; Maryland & Rhode Island Top Monthly List; South Carolina & Arkansas Have Biggest Monthly Drops

Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between August 2016 and August 2017, while 30 states added construction jobs between July and August amid strong demand for construction work in most parts of the country, according to an analysis by AGC of America of Labor Department data released Sept. 15. Association officials said that more states likely would have added new construction jobs except for the fact 70 percent of firms report having a hard time finding craft workers to hire.

Seventy percent of construction firms report they are having a hard time filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce, according to the results of an industry-wide survey released recently by Autodesk and AGC of America. Association officials said that many firms are changing the way they operate, recruit and compensate, but cautioned that chronic labor shortages could have significant economic impacts absent greater investments in career and technical education.