Chicago’s Ujamaa Construction was named as the 2019 Diverse Business of the Year award winner by the Associated General Contractors of America, association officials announced today. The association also awarded Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Awards to Austin Commercial, Shoemaker Construction Company, Central Builders, United Rentals and the Íæż½ã½ã of Missouri.
On March 28, a federal judge struck down portions of the U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) final rule intended to expand access to association health plans (AHPs) and increase flexibility for small employers to join groups or associations to offer insured health coverage in the large group market at potentially more favorable pricing with less restrictive requirements. U.S. District Judge John Bates of Washington, D.C., ruled that the bona fide association and working owner provisions exceeded the statutory authority delegated in ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and that the DOL rule "was intended and designed to end run the requirements of the ACA," the Affordable Care Act. Citing to a severability provision in the Final Rule, the judge has remanded the rule to the DOL to determine whether it can be saved without the invalidated provisions. Unless the ruling is reversed on appeal, this ruling will replace the prior restrictions on establishing AHPs under ERISA.
Construction employment increased by 16,000 jobs in March and by 246,000 jobs, or 3.4 percent, over the past year, according to an analysis of new government data today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials called on federal officials to double funding for career and technical training programs and facilitate immigration for workers with construction skills before a worker shortage stalls future infrastructure projects.
Columbus, Ohio’s National Veterans Memorial and Museum was the most significant construction project of 2018, the Associated General Contractors of America announced today. As a result, the project’s contractor, Turner Construction Company, received the association’s Construction Risk Partners Build America Grand Award, as well as the award for the best new building between $10 to $75 million.
Construction spending increased by 1.0 percent from January to February, while construction employment increased compared to February 2018 levels in 275 out of 358 metro areas, according to an analysis of new government data today by the Associated General Contractors. Association officials called on federal officials to support more career and technical education programs to prepare workers for in-demand careers like construction.
New Guidance Will Benefit Section 404 Permitting and Project Development
On March 14 and 15, the Trump Administration finalized amendments to resource management plans covering the greater sage grouse habitat in seven states giving greater flexibility to state decisions regarding activities in some of the bird’s habitat. The state plans fall under the Greater Sage Grouse Conservation Plan, finalized in 2015, which had previously set broad reaching land use policies/restrictions within the species’ territory.
July 23-25, 2019 in Seattle, Washington
The U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise and clarify the responsibilities of employers and joint employers to employees in joint employer arrangements. In 2017, the DOL withdrew the previous administrations sub-regulatory guidance regarding joint employer status that did not go through the rulemaking process that includes public notice and comment.
The U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today announced a 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 proposed 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 proposal’s intent is to better define the regular rate for today's workplace practices.