The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) on December 13 released a final procedural regulation rolling back some of the onerous requirements of the “quickie election” rule issued by the agency under the Obama Administration. The new rule, which was released at the end stages of lone Democrat Board Member McFerran’s term, is slated to take effect in April 2020.

For the eleventh year in a row, AGC of America has been named as one of the nation’s top lobbying operations by Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill. The publication’s annual ranking of top lobbyists lists AGC CEO Steve Sandherr as a top lobbyist. Sandherr said the listing is a really an acknowledgement of the quality of the association’s government relations team, noting that the team secured $7.6 billion in federal highway funding that Congress had planned to cut, a disaster aid package with billions of dollars dedicated to rebuilding impacted communities, and regulatory reforms to lower the bureaucratic burden on the industry, among other accomplishments this year.

The U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) released a final rule updating the regulations governing regular rate requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) 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 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 Department’s intent is to better define the regular rate for today's workplace practices. Click “read more” for further information on the new rule.

On Dec. 10, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced a bipartisan agreement on the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) that will allow the trade pact to move forward in the House as soon as next week. Once a House vote is taken, the measure will move to the Senate for consideration. The Trump administration announced an agreement in principle on this newly negotiated version of NAFTA in late 2018 and has been working with Congress throughout the duration of this year to secure its passage. AGC applauds this announcement and will continue to support USMCA as it moves through the ratification process. An updated agreement with our North American trading partners is long overdue and will help ensure that trade impacting the construction industry supply chain remains free, fair, and certain.

Guest Article by Anthony Kane, ISI - Resilience is a key component of sustainability where as an industry we have made significant advancements in recent years. In 2015 when the decision was made to begin work on a new version of Envision—the sustainable infrastructure framework—the primary driver was the industry’s expanding and evolving understanding of resilience. In April 2018, after three years of development, the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure released Envision v3 with a significantly expanded focus on how infrastructure should address both short-term shocks (hurricanes, wildfires, etc.) and long-term stressors (sea level rise, aging infrastructure, aging populations, etc.).

Having a resilient jobsite is an important part of mitigating the daily risks of weather events, but what happens when a natural disaster occurs? AGC’s ConstructorCast new two-part series explores just this question. Tune in this December (part 1) and January (part 2) for three experts in claims management, litigation, and restoration. Find out how they have worked through the tough issues of pre-loss planning for your project sites, lessons in mitigating losses, restoration challenges, as well as insurance and claims.

USGBC’s Center for Resilience Showcases Practical Resources

Industry Continues to Add Workers Faster and Pay Higher Wages than Overall Economy as Association Officials Call on Congress and the White House to Pass the JOBS Act, Boost Funding for Career Training

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a temporary enforcement policy to allow for crane operator certifications issued prior to December 2, 2019 by the Crane Institute Certification (CIC) to be temporarily accepted by the agency. OSHA requires crane operators engaged in construction activity to be certified by an entity holding accreditation through a nationally recognized agency. CIC no longer holds such accreditation. The policy explains that, although CIC-issued certifications are not compliant with OSHA’s operator certification requirement, OSHA does not intend to cite employers for operating equipment that violates that requirement if their operators, in good faith, obtained CIC-issued certifications prior to December 2, with the belief the certifications met the standard’s requirements. Until further notice, OSHA will not accept CIC certifications – including re-certifications – issued on or after December 2, 2019.

On Dec. 3, the AGC co-chaired Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) urged House and Senate negotiators to complete action on the fiscal year 2020 transportation appropriations bill. Both the House and Senate have passed their own versions of the legislation and must now agree to a compromise bill. The TCC applauded both the House and Senate versions for fully funding the program levels authorized by the FAST Act. It also called for the final bill to include at least $2.7 billion in supplemental highway funding and $750 million in supplemental public transportation funding to address surface transportation needs in all states, $1 billion for the BUILD grant program, and additional funding for Airport Improvement Program grants. The U.S. Department of Transportation programs, along with other federal programs, are currently operating under a short-term continuing resolution that expires on Dec. 20.