Recently, AGC sent a letter opposing the possible use of a project labor agreement (PLA) mandate posted by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest for a design-build construction project to decentralize the steam heating system at Naval Base San Diego, Calif.

On August 8, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, if implemented, will require covered federal contractors and subcontractors to submit an annual Equal Pay Report on employee compensation. 

On July 31, President Obama issued the latest, and most far-reaching, executive order in a series of presidential directives imposing new mandates on federal contractors.  The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (“EO”) purports to help federal agencies “identify and work with contractors with track records of compliance” with labor laws in order to “reduce execution delays and avoid distractions and complications that arise from contracting with contractors with track records of noncompliance.”  It imposes several new obligations on federal contractors and contracting agencies, increasing the burdens and risks for covered contractors.  It does not cover federally-assisted contracts.

A newly proposed rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would give the agency the authority to cut into the paychecks of those who owe it a debt, such as a fine or penalty for an environmental violation.  EPA would be allowed to garnish up to 15 percent of the “disposable pay” of delinquent debtors who do not work for the federal government via a process known as administrative wage garnishment – all without a court order.

New government data today show the uneven nature of the construction industry's recovery, as the sector added 22,000 jobs in July, but suffered a pullback in spending in June, according to an analysis by AGC of America.

This week, AGC sent a letter opposing the possible use of a project labor agreement (PLA) mandate posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a construction project at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii.

On July 31, President Obama issued an executive order (EO) that will require prospective federal contractors to disclose labor law violations from the past three years before they can win a contract.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council issued an interim rule—effective July 25, 2014—that amends the FAR in accordance with the Office of  Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently-issued affirmative action rules for veterans and disabled employees and applicants. Those OFCCP rules went into effect this past March. Contractors who work directly for federal agencies should take note of the inclusion of the new FAR clauses—52.222-35 and 52.222-36—in contracts awarded after July 25.

TAKE ACTION: Urge your Senators to Co-sponsor S. 2652 On July 24, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) introduced S. 2652, a bill that would reasonably limit one-step design-build procurements and the shortlist for two-step design-build procurements. Please take action now and urge your senators to cosponsor and support S. 2652.

AGC of America has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) asking the agency to clarify its proposed rule implementing Executive Order 13658 (EO), which establishes a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour for direct federal contractors and subcontractors. The new minimum wage impacts covered contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2015. Federally assisted contractors are not affected. The order also mandates that the Secretary of Labor determine a new minimum wage for federal contractors in 2016, and each year thereafter, based on the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for urban wage and clerical workers.