The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has scheduled five upcoming seminars throughout the country to educate federal and federally assisted contractors on the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and other federal contracting wage laws the agency enforces.
FMI, a leading provider of management consulting and people development services to the engineering and construction industries, is collecting data for its comprehensive 2015 Talent Acquisition and Development Report. Construction industry executives, training directors and HR professionals are asked to join their peers in completing a brief survey to gauge the changes and practices for recruiting, retaining and training construction industry personnel. The results of the survey will first be revealed in October at Íæż½ã½ã’s 2015 Construction HR & Training Professionals Conference in St. Louis, MO. Thereafter, all participants will receive a free copy of the final report before it is made available to others. To participate in the survey, click here by May 28.
On April 29, Íæż½ã½ã CEO Stephen Sandherr testified during a hearing held by the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions on ways to further strengthen the multiemployer pension system. The bipartisan, noncontroversial hearing focused on the recommendations outlined in the joint labor-management proposal, Solutions Not Bailouts, to create a new “composite†type of multiemployer benefit plan that is distinct from either defined-benefit or defined-contribution plans. The new plan design was not included in last year’s bill that overhauled much of the multiemployer system, the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014, which tracked other policy recommendations from Solutions Not Bailouts.
Íæż½ã½ã of America’s Open Shop Committee will hold its next web meeting on May 18 beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The event will feature a “Quick Learn†presentation by attorney Rick Samson of Ogletree Deakins on Preparing for the NLRB’s New “Quickie Election†Rule, as well as a labor law update by Íæż½ã½ã staff.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently announced that the annual national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force for 2015 is 7 percent. The new number is a slight decrease from 7.2 percent and is based on 2014 end-of-year data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Department of Treasury and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) recently issued separate “requests for information†to aid in their development of regulations to implement the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act (MPRA) and Íæż½ã½ã joined with other construction industry stakeholders to submit detailed comments to Treasury and PBGC on April 6, 2015.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a March 25 decision that an employee should have her day in court to determine whether or not United Parcel Service, Inc. violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act when it denied light-duty work to a pregnant employee who was restricted from heavy lifting by her medical provider.
Deceptively considered one of the simplest forms completed during the hiring process, Form I-9 is often riddled with errors that could place your company in jeopardy if audited by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Its companion, E-Verify, often leaves employers confused about what to do when an employee's documents may not check out. To help construction contractors avoid the pitfalls of non-compliance, Íæż½ã½ã is hosting two webinars in April. An April 28 webinar will address the real deal on Form I-9, and an April 29 webinar will address issues surrounding E-Verify. Both webinars are ideal for project managers, superintendents, office managers, HR staff, or anyone who signs Form I-9 and/or uses E-Verify.
Contractors concerned about enhanced opportunities for union organizing under new regulations can take steps now to be prepared, explained attorney Rick Samson of Ogletree Deakins at Íæż½ã½ã of America’s Annual Convention in San Juan, PR. Samson spoke at a March 18 session titled “Understanding and Preparing for New Union Representation Procedures†hosted by the Open Shop Committee and Chairman Bob Lanham.
North America’s Building Trade Unions (the Building Trades) “will work with whoever will work with us,†said its president Sean McGarvey during a session at Íæż½ã½ã of America’s Annual Convention on March 19 in San Juan, PR. “We’re not about political parties. We’re about [construction workers]…Both parties have changed, and we have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies. That’s our approach,†he said.