Íæż½ã½ã

According to the Center for Construction Research and Training, 30 percent of all construction workers are Hispanic.  Therefore, understanding and exploring the impact culture plays when working with a Hispanic workforce is vital to the success of construction companies nationwide. On Thursday, July 18, Íæż½ã½ã will host a webinar on The Hispanic Workforce: Best Practices for Construction Employers.  The webinar will take place from 2:00-3:30 p.m. EDT.  The cost to participate is just $99 for Íæż½ã½ã members and $129 for non-members. 

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has scheduled two upcoming conferences to educate federal contractors on the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. Each conference will address such topics as the process of obtaining wage determinations and adding classifications, compliance assistance and enforcement processes, and the process of appealing wage rates.  The conferences will be held June 20-21 in Long Island, N..Y, and June 26-27 in Atlantic City, N.J.

Íæż½ã½ã recently hosted a webinar on The New Form I-9: What You Need to do to Avoid the Pitfalls and Stay Compliant.  An on-demand version of the webinar is available for purchase from the Íæż½ã½ã Bookstore.

On April 29, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a memorandum to its regional administrators advising them of a new effort using enforcement, outreach and training to protect temporary workers from workplace hazards.  The guidance is the result of a series of reports of temporary workers suffering fatal injuries during the first days on the job. 

Registration is now open for Íæż½ã½ã’s 2013 Construction HR and Training Professionals Conference, to be held Oct. 16-17 at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago. The conference will provide two days of unique opportunities for HR, training and workforce development professionals in the construction industry.

In two All-Agency Memorandums (AAMs), the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) provides new guidance to contracting agencies with construction work covered by the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.  One AAM explains when survey crew members are considered laborers or mechanics under the Davis-Bacon Act.  The other clarifies how proposed wage rates should be determined during the conformance review process, the process by which contracting agencies request additional classifications or rates that are not listed on the Davis-Bacon wage determination.  Contractors and subcontractors should consider both memorandums when requesting rate and/or classification changes to an applicable Davis-Bacon wage determination.

The employer community has won another significant victory in litigation challenging the authority of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  On May 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit invalidated President Obama’s March 2010 recess of Craig Becker to the NLRB.  The court agreed with the DC Circuit’s finding in the Noel Canning case that the President’s authority to make recess appointments is reserved for intersession breaks of the Senate, not intrasession breaks.  Becker’s appointment took place during an intrasession break. 

The next quarterly conference call of Íæż½ã½ã of America’s Union Contractors Committee will take place on June 19, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.  It will include reports and a roundtable discussion of collective bargaining activities and other local and national developments relevant to union contractors.  Participation is open to all Íæż½ã½ã-member union contractors and their chapter staff. 

Beginning January 1, 2014, individuals and employees of small businesses will have access to health coverage through a health insurance market (known as an "Exchange" or "Marketplace") in their state. Open enrollment for the Marketplace begins October 1, 2013. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers to provide employees with a notice of their coverage options available through the Marketplace ("Exchange" or "Marketplace" Notice).

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a joint interim final rule regarding prevailing wages for the H-2B guestworker program.  The rule establishes a new methodology for calculating prevailing wages under the H-2B low-skilled, nonagricultural guestworker program.  It took effect on April 24, the date it was published in the Federal Register.