A federal district court has struck down a state statute restricting the use of project labor agreements (PLAs) on the basis that the statute was preempted by the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

On Jan. 14, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued an Administrator’s Interpretation (AI) clarifying the definition of “son or daughter” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  The guidance specifically addresses the needs for parents who request leave to care for an adult child, eighteen years of age or older, with a mental or physical disability.

A provision in the fiscal cliff deal has increased the monthly limitation regarding the fringe benefit exclusion amount for transit passes and transportation in a commuter highway vehicle from $240 to $245 for the 2013 tax year.  The legislation also allows for a retroactive increase to include tax year 2012.  As a result, the 2012 exclusion amount was increased from the $125 limit that had previously been established to the new $245 limit.

The AGC Annual Convention and Constructor Expo - March 6-9, 2013, in Palm Springs, Calif. - is the ideal opportunity to see what AGC can do for you and your business, as well as to learn from industry peers and experts on how they are overcoming today’s challenges.  Don’t miss out on the opportunity to build your connections, grow your business, and get involved.  Register now before the early-bird registration discount ends on January 31. 

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington has dismissed a controversial lawsuit brought by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters international and certain subordinate bodies and individual members (Plaintiffs) against the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department and named labor officials (Defendants).

Construction-industry collective bargaining negotiations settled during 2012 resulted in an average first-year increase in wages and benefits of $0.88 or 2.0 percent, according to the 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 $1.08 or 2.3 percent, and the average third-year increase was $1.13 or 2.4 percent.

The 2012-2013 influenza season started early and is now an epidemic.  As a result, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that employers communicate with employees about the importance of getting vaccinated and reducing the spread of flu. 

In response to some states passing initiatives to permit the use of marijuana for recreational purposes, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance recently issued a memo about its drug-use policy for safety-sensitive transportation employees.  Construction industry workers covered by the policy include truck drivers and other safety-sensitive transportation workers.

After four years of hosting the HR Professionals Conference back-to-back with the Training, Education and Development (TED) Conference, AGC will combine the two conferences for 2013.  With construction companies working with fewer staff, the decision to combine the conferences is a result of the increase in the number of individuals who are fulfilling both roles.  The event will be known as AGC’s Construction HR and Training Professionals Conference.  It will be held in Chicago, Ill., on Oct. 16 and 17 and will provide two full days of sessions for HR and for training professionals.  Registration and hotel information will be available at http://www.agc.org in the coming months.

At the end of December, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released its 2012 Statement of Regulatory Priorities, commonly known as the regulatory agenda. Initially, the agendas were scheduled to be released last fall, but were delayed presumably due to the November elections.  While agencies often do not adhere to the target dates listed, the agenda is a good indicator of issues the agency wants to address in 2013, which includes several regulations of concern to the construction industry.  Respectfully, neither agency announced any new regulations in the newly-released agendas.  However, the agency did provide notice of several updates.