On January 19, AGC, along with the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance (SWACCA), submitted comprehensive comments to OSHA reiterating the construction industry’s success in protecting workers throughout the pandemic, while also reminding the agency of the low-risk nature of construction work. The joint comments further detailed how the ETS will exacerbate the workforce shortage for covered contractors, significantly increase construction project costs, and potentially result in delays that will undermine the nation’s economic recovery.
According to the latest Contractor Compensation Quarterly (CCQ) published by PAS, Inc., construction support staff wages are to rise by an average 3.6%. The prediction is based on data gathered from over 199 companies in the 18th edition of PAS’s Construction Support Staff Salary Survey. This is lower than the actual increase of 3.8% for 2020, but at the moment, PAS expects actual year-end 2021 to come in higher than the 3.6% reported in the survey and 2022 even a little higher. Demand for all employee levels continues, including those who support contractors’ operations and financial professionals.
On January 13, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2022-1 clarifying the requirements of Executive Order (EO) 14026 that increases the hourly minimum wage for certain federal contractors to $15 effective January 30, 2022.
AGC, in conjunction with the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) and four fellow CDW-member trade associations, submitted an amicus brief with the National Labor Relations Board in a case that could result in broader remedies for unlawfully discharged employees. The Board invited briefs in the Thryv, Inc. case to weigh in on whether the Board should expand its traditional “make-whole” remedy for employees who are discharged, laid off, or otherwise discriminated against by an employer’s unfair labor practice. Specifically, the Board is considering allowing employees to receive awards of “consequential damages” in addition to traditional awards of lost earnings and benefits.
Construction-industry collective bargaining negotiations completed in 2021 resulted in an average first-year increase in wages and fringe benefits of 3.0 percent or $1.74, according to the annual year-end Settlements Report recently released by the AGC-supported Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC). These results are essentially the same as reported in 2019, when the first-year increase was 3.0 percent or $1.73. Last year’s slight drop in the size of negotiated first-year increases – measuring at 2.9 percent or $1.66 – was the first dip seen in a decade.
The federal contractor vaccination mandate remains on hold since the December 17, 2021, decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to maintain a nationwide stay (or freeze) of the mandate until—potentially—as late as April 2022. During the week of January 10, 2022, AGC engaged in direct discussions with major construction federal agencies and key regulators. Guidance has been issued on ensuring federal compliance with court orders and injunctions, meaning that contractors should expect no federal action to enforce the contract clause implementing the requirement that federal contractors and subcontractors be vaccinated.
AGC, in conjunction with the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) and four fellow CDW-member trade associations, submitted an amicus brief with the National Labor Relations Board in a case that could result in broader remedies for unlawfully discharged employees. The Board invited briefs in the Thryv, Inc. case to weigh in on whether the Board should expand its traditional “make-whole” remedy for employees who are discharged, laid off, or otherwise discriminated against by an employer’s unfair labor practice. Specifically, the Board is considering allowing employees to receive awards of “consequential damages” in addition to traditional awards of lost earnings and benefits.
In response to the ongoing Omicron wave of COVID-19 cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its guidance to reduce, in most instances, both the length of time an individual must isolate after contracting COVID-19, and the quarantine period for those exposed to the illness. While it may be a good sign the CDC believes shorter periods are appropriate due to the prevalence of milder Omicron cases, this new guidance doesn’t come without complexities. The December 27, 2021, guidance not only abruptly changes rules many employers had in place for several months, it also leads to questions about which guidance employers should now follow given the status of OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). This article offers employers a practical, five-step compliance plan in light of this latest curveball.
A December 17 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit will effectively maintain a Georgia federal district court’s nationwide stay of the federal contractor vaccine mandate until at least January 24, 2022. The Eleventh Circuit denied a Biden Administration request to immediately remove the nationwide stay and instead requested that the parties to the lawsuit fully brief their arguments on the stay by January 24. The argument here does not go to the merits of the mandate, but instead as to whether the existing freeze of the mandate should be maintained or not. As such, litigation is far from over in this particular case and those throughout the country, including by AGC in a federal court in Texas.