The AGC Labor and Employment Law Council (LELC) held its 33rd Annual Construction Labor Law Symposium May 12, 2017, in Washington, DC. Attorneys and chapter labor relations managers from across the country gathered to learn about labor and employment law developments and their significance for construction employers.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) requested and was granted another delay to file a brief on behalf of the Department of Labor (DOL) in its federal court appeal on the Nov. 2016 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulation. The DOJ now has until June 30, 2017, to file its response.

Registration is now open for the 2017 Construction HR and Training Professionals Conference and pre-conference Strategic Management Workshop to be held October 11-13, 2017, in Phoenix, AZ.

On April 28, 2017, Rene Alexander “Alex” Acosta was sworn in as the nation’s 27th U.S. Secretary of Labor. The Senate confirmed him the day before by a bipartisan final vote of 60-38. Eight Democrats and one independent joined the Republicans voting in favor of the appointment.

Kathy Nanowski, Fuss & O'Neill Along with many of you, I receive many marketing journals and articles about the newest trends in managing marketing and business development processes. I bring most of these articles home and highlight what might be relevant to me and my firm. Of course, if I did half the things I highlighted, I would run around frantically, driving senior leadership crazy. Unfortunately, what many people do instead of selectively committing to some of the work is do none of it. What is the best process or metric or program that will give you the biggest return on your investment? Because let’s face it, any new program will require an investment of time and money, both of which are very precious. There are numerous marketing and business development metrics out there. Some of the most popular include: total sales, sales dollars spent versus winning rates, hit rates, and the list goes on. I measure more than seven different sales metrics on a monthly and YTD basis.

On March 25, 2017, in Banner Health Systems v NLRB, the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit refused to enforce an order of the National Labor Relations Board's (Board) finding that an employer violated Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (Act) by maintaining “a categorical policy of asking employees not to discuss certain kinds of human resources investigations.”

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently announced that the 2017 annual Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) hiring benchmark is 6.9 percent. The new benchmark is a slight decrease from last year’s 6.9 percent benchmark and became effective on March 31. It reflects the national percentage of veterans in the civilian labor force for 2017 as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Thanks in part to AGC’s advocacy efforts, contractors are enjoying a major victory today: permanent nullification of regulations implementing Pres. Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, often referred to as the “blacklisting” rule. On March 27, Pres. Trump signed into law a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) by which Congress expressed disapproval of the rule and stripped it of all force and effect.

Company revenue size is the most relevant demographic factor in determining how a construction company pays its executives as compared to other construction companies, reports PAS, Inc. in its latest Contractor Compensation Quarterly (CCQ). When it comes to open-shop craft compensation in infrastructure construction, though, location and type of construction are most relevant.

AGC and its members are on the verge of a major legislative victory: nullification of the regulations implementing President Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, often referred to as the “blacklisting” rule. Following a concerted AGC advocacy effort, the House of Representatives voted to nullify the rule through use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) on Feb. 2, and the Senate passed the joint resolution by a slim margin on March 9. The legislation now moves to the President Trump’s desk for signature.