This year marks the 70th anniversary of the enactment of the Davis-Bacon Act. So, what has changed in 70 years? While the law itself hasn’t changed much, the administration of the law has changed significantly, causing concern for many contractors with federal and federally assisted construction contracts.  Davis-Bacon wage rates are increasing and so are the Department of Labor’s audit and enforcement efforts.  As a result, AGC will provide a webinar in two sessions – on Dec. 7 and 8 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. EST – on The Davis-Bacon Act Today: What’s New for Federal Construction Contractors.  This advanced-level webinar will explain to construction contractors with federal and federally assisted contracts how things are changing and how to safeguard a company from the risks.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council has issued a final rule implementing Executive Order 13496 and a Department of Labor (DOL) regulation requiring most federal contractors to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  The final rule became effective immediately upon its Nov. 2 publication in the Federal Register and makes no changes to an interim rule issued by the FAR Council in December 2010.  While the DOL regulation, which took effect in June 2010, established the content of the required notice, flow-down requirements, and penalties and procedures for noncompliance, further rulemaking was needed by the FAR Council to officially notify contracting officers to insert a new clause in covered contracts to render so that contractors would be contractually required to post the notices.

In response to an employer’s request, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued a non-binding opinion letter that provides insight into the Commission’s current enforcement position regarding protections for job applicants with arrest or conviction records under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The letter suggests that the Commission will continue to treat arrests and convictions differently and will closely review the employer’s policy with regard to how long convictions are disqualifying and whether the underlying criminal conduct is related to the job duties for the position in question.

AGC of America held an AGC-Basic Trades Forum and Union Contractors Committee Meeting on Oct. 17 in Washington, DC.  AGC-member union contractors and their chapter staff from across the country attended the events, which were designed to provide an opportunity for union contractors to voice their concerns to leaders of the national unions and the association.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued an interim policy with regard to providing electronic disclosures of information required under the participant-level fee disclosure final rule.  Generally, this rule requires retirement plan sponsors and employers to disclose certain plan and investment-related information, including information about fees and expenses, to participants and beneficiaries of participant-directed investment plans, such as 401(k) plans.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently issued guidance designed to clarify the tax treatment of employer-provided cell phones.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that is aimed at improving departmental efforts to end the misclassification of workers as independent contractors.  The MOU will enable DOL to share information and coordinate law enforcement with the IRS in what DOL says will “level the playing field for law-abiding employers and ensure that employees receive the protections to which they are entitled under federal and state law.”

AGC of America has compiled a searchable Workforce Development Outreach Database of all AGC chapters' outreach efforts to attract people to our industry. This database is available free on AGC’s website and is designed to assist contractors that are looking to get involved in local activities, chapters that are searching for new ideas, and the public at large.

More than 150 attended the 10th Annual HR Professionals Conference and the 5th Annual Training, Education & Development Conference, which ran back-to-back with a joint keynote session earlier this month in Kansas City, Missouri.

Following the release of a new Sources Sought Notice for the construction of a new  Job Corps Center in Manchester, N.H., AGC of America (AGC) has contacted the Department of Labor (DOL) about its inclusion of a project labor agreement (PLA) mandate. In a letter dated Oct. 7, the association reiterated questions and concerns set forth in a September 2009 letter about the department’s intent to require a PLA on the project during the initial bidding process.