Construction-industry collective bargaining negotiations settled during 2014 resulted in an average first-year increase in wages and benefits of $1.07 per hour or 2.3 percent, according to the annual year-end Settlements Report issued by the AGC-supported Construction Labor Research Council.  For newly negotiated multi-year contracts, the average negotiated second-year increase was $1.31 or 2.4 percent, and the average third-year increase was $1.37 or 2.5 percent.

An archive of each session of AGC’s recent two-part webinar on Understanding the Davis-Bacon Act and the New Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Law is now available for purchase and immediate viewing from AGC’s online bookstore. Visit http://store.agc.org/ and search for product codes WB294 and WB295. Be sure to login to see member pricing.

As 2015 begins, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is sharpening its emphasis on inspecting and citing employers who violate its recordkeeping standard. This takes on greater importance because of the changes and new reporting requirements that became effective on January 1, 2015.

On Jan. 5, AGC submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regarding its proposed rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to annually report summary compensation data using a new Equal Pay Report.  OFCCP originally published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking more than three years ago announcing the desire to create such a tool.  The proposed rule is the result of an April 2014 Presidential Memorandum and was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 8, 2014.

On Tuesday, the president signed into law the $1.1 trillion spending bill, which eventually passed both the U.S. House and Senate after a tumultuous week filled with partisan politics on unrelated provisions. This nine-month bill funds federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security – which is only funded through Feb. 27. The new law includes a series of association-backed multi-employer pension reforms, all designed to allow employers and employees the opportunity to protect and improve retirement programs.

On Dec. 16, AGC submitted comments to OFCCP in response to its proposed rule prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against employees who disclose compensation. The rule is in response to Executive Order 13665, signed by President Obama in April 2014. It applies to federal and federally-assisted contracts and subcontracts, as it amends Executive Order 11246.

The National Labor Relations Board (“Board” or “NLRB”) has issued a final rule revising union representation case procedures to unions’ advantage.  As anticipated, the final rule is nearly identical to proposed rules issued in February 2014 and in June 2011.  The rule is published in the Dec. 15, 2014, issue of the Federal Register and is due to take effect on April 14, 2015.  AGC and AGC-supported coalitions opposed the rulemaking and are exploring efforts to block implementation.

According to the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), effective Jan. 1, 2015, E-Verify transaction records more than 10 years old will be deleted from the system.   As a result, employers will no longer have access in E-Verify to cases created prior to Dec. 31, 2004.

On Dec. 3, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), announced final regulations implementing Executive Order 13672 (EO).  The EO prohibits federal contractors with contracts of $10,000 or more and their subcontractors from engaging in employment discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation or gender identity. The final rule will take effect 120 days after it is published in the Federal Register and will apply to federal contracts entered into or modified on or after that date.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, Guam) has upheld the dismissal of two lawsuits brought by the Carpenters against various AFL-CIO affiliates and representatives.  The cases stem from actions allegedly taken by the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department (“BCTD”) and others during a “Push-Back-Carpenters Campaign" aimed at forcing the Carpenters to re-affiliate with the BCTD.