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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Institutes New Endangered Species Act Process

On July 26, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced its final process for improving the way it identifies and prioritizes pending Endangered Species Act status reviews, a process the agency uses to determine whether a species warrants federal protection. The agency is legally bound to undertake year-long reviews during which it uses the “best available science” to determine whether a species meets the definition of threatened or endangered.

AGC and House Transportation Committee Tell FHWA That Greenhouse Gas Proposal Is Unauthorized

In comments filed on Aug. 19, AGC questioned the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) authority to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as part of its proposal for performance measurements as directed by Congress in the MAP-21 and FAST Act legislation. House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and 30 members of the committee also sent a letter telling FHWA that the proposal exceeds its authority for this action.

Two-Thirds of Contractors Have a Hard Time Finding Qualified Craft Workers to Hire Amid Growing Construction Demand, National Survey Finds

Two-thirds of construction firms report they are having a hard time filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce, according to the results of an industry-wide survey released today by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Proposed Updates Would Expand Floodplains and Introduce Green Infrastructure Approaches for FEMA Federally Funded Projects

On Aug. 22, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) proposed updates to its Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands regulations to align with the 2015 Federal Flood Risk Management Standard, which AGC commented on last year.  These requirements would expand the floodplain and raise costs for actions involving the use of FEMA Federal Funds for new construction, substantial improvement, or to address substantial damage to a structure or facility.

NLRB Rules Temps & Other Supplied Workers may be Organized in Same Unit as Regular Workers

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) has changed the standard – yet again – for determining the appropriateness of bargaining units in the context of labor staffing firms.  In Miller & Anderson, the Board held that a union may seek to represent a unit of workers that combines employees who are jointly employed by the “supplier” employer (the staffing company) and the “user” employer with employees who are solely employed by the user employer, provided that the workers share a “community of interest.”  The Board’s most recent standard conditioned such a unit on the joint employers’ consent, but the Board has flip-flopped on this standard over the years.  The present decision reinstates the standard set forth in the 2000 Sturgis decision, which was reversed in the 2004 Oakwood decision.  It arguably makes it easier for unions to organize supplied workers, particularly as it comes in the wake of last year’s Browning-Ferris Industries decision relaxing the standard for determining joint employer status.

AGC Tells OMB that Proposed EEO-1 Report is Overly Burdensome for Construction Employers

On August 15, AGC submitted a second set of comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) opposing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) proposed rule to revise the Employer Information Report (EEO-1).  The proposal intends to collect compensation and hours-worked data in addition to already collected race and gender data.  AGC submitted comments on the rule, as initially proposed, in April.  A final rule is expected in the Fall.