Newly final rule expected to trigger third-party lawsuits

On Apr. 22, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council published a new rule requiring federal agencies to procure “sustainable products and services” to the maximum extent practicable effective May 22, 2024.

TRIP has issued a news release highlighting the importance of safety, reliability, and condition of the nation’s freight transportation network following the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.

On April 29, 2024, Senate and House of Representatives leaders reached an agreement to reauthorize Federal Aviation Administration funding for the next five years. Previously, the House passed their version of the bill in July 2023, but the Senate was held up due to debates about increasing the pilot retirement age, including flight simulators in qualifying as a portion of flight training, and providing special security at airports for certain members of Congress and other officials.

According to the latest Contractor Compensation Quarterly (CCQ) published by PAS, Inc., construction executive staff wage increases came in at 5.6% for 2023 and are also projected to rise by an average 4.7% by 2024 year-end. The actual 2023 increase compared to the 2023 projected increase was .9% higher, so it is possible we will see this same trend in 2024 (or not – see below). For comparison, WorldatWork is projecting a 4.1% average increase for all executives in 2024.

Expands Protections and Accommodations for Pregnant Workers

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently updated its Prevailing Wage Resource Book (PWRB). In light of the recent publication of the final rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations, which took effect on October 23, 2023, WHD claims to have conducted a review of the PWRB to simplify the language, restructure the format in a more intuitive manner, and provide additional guidance and examples where stakeholders routinely requested clarification.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a final rule to Define and Delimit the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Associated General Contractors of America recently urged the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division to abandon or at least postpone issuance of such a rule. The DOL last updated these regulations as recently as 2019, going into effect in 2020, which strongly suggests there is no need for urgency in issuing more changes.

AGC recently submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) proposal to reinstate the requirement of the submission of Monthly Employment Utilization Reports (CC-257) by covered federal and federally assisted contractors. Before being discontinued in 1995, construction contractors were required to submit Form CC-257 to OFCCP on a monthly basis and to provide information on construction trade employee work hours by race/ethnicity, gender, and trade in the covered geographic area where the work was performed. This proposal would reinstate the reporting requirement with additional data and requirements.