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.
AGC’s 2024 Construction HR & Workforce Conference will be held on October 20-22, 2024, in Denver, CO. The event will feature keynotes focusing on the intersection of HR and workforce development. The program will also feature a multi-track educational program that includes sessions focused on HR and training practices, while others will highlight workforce development strategies. Some sessions will cover both!
As previously reported, efforts to limit or outright prohibit the use of employee non-compete agreements have gained considerable momentum in the past year with several states, including California, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, banning non-competes entirely.
The Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) has released its annual report on Union Labor Costs in Construction. The report is useful for understanding current trends in collectively bargained compensation for union craft workers in the construction industry, providing data analyses by region and trade. It can be a valuable resource when preparing for collective bargaining negotiations, particularly when used in conjunction with CLRC’s latest Settlements Report.
As set forth in its notice and comment request of February 26, 2024, “Proposed Renewal of the Approval of Information Collection Requirements,” OFCCP seeks to renew and make changes to its construction scheduling letter and itemized listing. These documents are sent to contractors to initiate a construction compliance evaluation and to request relevant information for the evaluation.
Report, Titled “AGC for All” Catalogues Association’s Accomplishments During the Past Year
On March 12, 2024, a federal judge in Louisiana dismissed on procedural grounds AGC of America’s lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s regulation requiring project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal construction projects of $35 million or more. The decision, however, does not prohibit the association from refiling a lawsuit later.
A new rule from the U.S. Department of Labor is broadly expected to result in more workers being classified as “employees” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Although the final rule faces challenges in court, employers should be prepared for the rule on independent contractor classification to go into effect March 11, 2024. Employers should review their relationships with workers currently classified as independent contractors to determine if they should be re-classified as employees. Misclassification could result in significant liability for unpaid wages (including unpaid overtime), employee benefits, and unpaid employment and other taxes.