Volatile financial markets and changing worker demographics have lead to funding shortfalls in construction-industry multiemployer pension plans that cannot easily be corrected by only increasing contribution rates, explains a report recently released by the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) and Horizon Actuarial Services. The Inventory of Construction Industry Pension Plans, 2012 Edition contains an inventory of historical data for all multiemployer pension plans in the construction industry (not just mechanical trades). It summarizes and analyzes key trends in plan demographics, cash flows, investments, funding, and expenses from 2001 through 2010 based on Form 5500 filings.
There is still time to register for ż’s 2012 HR Professionals Conference, Training, Education & Development (TED) Conference, and Federal Construction HR Workshop, but the hotel discount ends Friday, Sept. 14, so act fast. Room rates are just $119 per night.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) added twelve new questions to its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Internet Applicant Recordkeeping Rule. The new information is intended to clarify the OFCCP recordkeeping requirements of federal contractors and subcontractors. The rule originally went into effect in 2006.
The National Labor Relations Board has held that a company policy - asking employees who lodge an internal complaint not to discuss the matter with co-workers while the matter is investigated - violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
ż of America’s Union Contractors Committee (UCC) has begun holding quarterly conference calls. The first call took place on July 10. Approximately 50 ż members and chapter staff registered. The call included remarks by Chairman Bill Wilson, an update on labor relations matters by committee staff associate Denise Gold, an update on multiemployer pension reform activities by staff associate Jim Young and chapter executive Jack Ramage, and a roundtable discussion of collective bargaining issues, jurisdictional disputes and other union contractor concerns.
On Aug. 15, 2012, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will begin accepting applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The DACA program allows certain undocumented immigrants who came into the U.S. before age sixteen to gain temporary relief from deportation and obtain work authorization. While DHS has confirmed that applicants for the program will not face adverse action for coming forward, officials have not provided the same assurances for employers who may be asked to provide documentation for existing workers. The program is expected to benefit as many as 1.76 million unauthorized immigrants, of which 58 percent are currently working.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Ill., Ind., Wis.) has held that a contractor was required to make contributions to Taft-Hartley pension and health-and-welfare plans for all hours worked by a bargaining-unit employee, including non-bargaining unit work.
As the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) continues its focus on auditing apprenticeship and training funds expenses, ż has learned that in addition to graduation ceremonies and marketing, EBSA is also finding excessive expenses associated with apprenticeship competitions and instructor retirement dinners.
On Aug. 1, 2012, the Center for Corporate Equality (CCE), a national nonprofit research organization, released the results of an ż co-sponsored study of data related to the enforcement of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) enforces both of those laws and has recently proposed significant changes to their implementing regulations. CCE's report concludes that “discrimination against protected veterans and individuals with disabilities, especially with regard to hiring, is not a frequent finding by OFCCP and may not support the major shift in policy that the proposed regulations would necessitate.”
A final rule to implement a Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act requirement affecting federal contractors will go into effect on Aug. 27, 2012. Under the new rule promulgated by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council, federal contractors will be required to report the names and total compensation of the five most highly compensated officers under certain circumstances, as well as awards to first-tier subcontractors above $25,000.