Federal Contractor Report

 

On June 10, hundreds of members participated in AGC’s annual Federal Contractors Conference in Washington D.C. where contractors met with major federal agencies and members of Congress to discuss issues within the federal construction space. Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), General Services Administration (GSA), Small Business Administration (SBA), Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRSC) participated, with several agencies making significant announcements about their respective programs.

AGC is encouraging all AGC members and Chapters to urge their representatives, senators and President Trump to fund a robust infrastructure bill, including fixing the Highway Trust Fund by increasing the federal gas tax. President Trump and congressional Democratic leaders recently agreed in principle on a $2 trillion price tag for a broad infrastructure package. However, they fell short of identifying how to pay such a bill. Both sides agreed, nonetheless, to meet again to have a more specific conversation on how to pay for these new infrastructure investments. Help us keep the pressure on Congress and the president by urging them to act NOW on an infrastructure bill. For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at oneills@agc.org or (202) 547-8892.

 

A recent federal court decision signals the beginning of what could potentially be a wave of lawsuits against federal contractors for compliance with cybersecurity requirements under DFARS 252.204-7012 (Safeguarding Covered Defense Information & Cyber Incident Reporting).  The case involves a false claims action brought by a federal contractor employee alleging the contractor fraudulently claimed it was in compliance with this DFARS requirement. The federal contractor argued that the U.S. Department of Defense had never expected full compliance, which is evidence by the amended guidance and regulations that have come out since early 2018. The court rejected the federal contractor’s argument and stated that compliance still impacted the federal government’s decision to contract with the company. To access AGC’s webinar on these cybersecurity requirements, click here.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (“OLMS”) recently made technical changes to the poster that federal contractors and subcontractors are required to display under Executive Order 13496.  The poster informs employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).  The Department updated the poster to reflect a new telephone number for the National Labor Relations Board, the agency responsible for enforcing the NLRA, and to provide contact information for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. No other changes or updates were made at this time. 

On June 12, AGC submitted comments to the U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) updating the regulations governing regular rate requirements 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 NPRM focused 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 proposal’s intent is to better define the regular rate for today's workplace practices.

 

Sixty-seven percent of highway contractors report that motor vehicles had crashed into their construction work zones during the past year, according to the results of a new highway work zone study conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America.  In response, association officials have launched a new radio and media campaign urging drivers to slow down and remain alert in highway work zones.