On January 5, Pres. Obama nominated Democrat Lafe Solomon to be general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board and Republican Terence Flynn to be a member of the Board. The nominations have been sent to the Senate for confirmation.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a proposed rule requiring employers to post notices informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The proposed rule establishes the size, form, and content of the notice, and sets forth provisions regarding sanctions and remedies for noncompliance.
Construction-industry collective bargaining negotiations completed in 2010 resulted in an average first-year increase in wages and fringe benefits of only $0.80 or 1.7 percent, the lowest percent increase in 25 years, according to the Construction Labor Research Council’s (CLRC’s) annual report on settlements. The last time the average dropped below 2 percent was in 1985.
On December 9, 2010, AGC completed its two-day webinar on the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts: The Ins and Outs of Federal Prevailing Wage Law. With nearly 300 registered participants, the series helped many current and future federal construction contractors by providing information necessary to understand the specific requirements of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts in a contractor-friendly manner.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division (WHD), the agency responsible for enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other laws, has announced a new attorney referral initiative with the American Bar Association (ABA) through which the agency will refer cases to private attorneys instead of completing its own claims investigation.
Union and open-shop contractors alike are encouraged to attend Unions: A New Perspective from Two General Presidents, a session at AGC of America’s 92nd Annual Convention featuring the leaders of two of the nation’s largest and most powerful construction trade unions: Douglas McCarron, general president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, and Vincent Giblin, general president of the International Union of Operating Engineers.
AGC's Open Shop Committee will meet during AGC’s 92nd Annual Convention on March 21 at 1:30 p.m. The meeting will feature an update on labor law matters relevant to open-shop contractors and a roundtable discussion of local developments, covering such topics as project labor agreements, card check and bannering.
AGC’s upcoming webinar, “The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts: The Ins and Outs of Federal Prevailing Wage Law,” has been pre-approved to offer three general recertification credits by the HR Certification Institute (HRCI), the internationally recognized leader in human resource certification.
On November 17, 2010, three federal government agencies, together, issued an amendment to the interim final regulations of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, allowing group health plans to switch insurance companies and still maintain their grandfathered status. Prior to the amendment, group health plans that switched insurance companies lost their grandfathered status under the Act.
On November 9, 2010, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published final regulations implementing Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA prohibits employers from making employment decisions on the basis of genetic information and family history and also prohibits employers from acquiring genetic information and family medical history regarding applicants, employees and former employees.