The AGC-supported Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) has released its second report of the year on collective bargaining settlements in the industry. Settlements reported between January and September 2015 resulted in an average first-year wage-and-benefit increase of 2.5 percent or $1.25.
On September 16, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing a new minimum wage rate of $10.15 for direct federal contracts and subcontracts covered by Executive Order 13658. Federally assisted contracts are not affected. The rate goes into effect on January 1, 2016.
On September 7 (Labor Day), President Obama announced a new executive order (EO) that will require federal contractors and subcontractors to provide up to seven days of paid leave for sickness and other covered purposes to covered employees annually. The new requirement will impact new federal contracts or contract-like instruments entered into on or after January 1, 2017. Federally assisted contracts are not impacted.
On September 11, the U.S. Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued its Final Rule implementing Executive Order 13665, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against employees and applicants who ask about or discuss compensation. The regulations are effective January 11, 2016.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on August 6 issued an updated Form 1095-C and instructions following a June 9 letter from AGC of America and the Food Marketing Institute urging the agency to make the revisions. Form 1095-C is one of the forms used by employers to report information regarding the cost and level of health coverage offered to employees under the employer mandate provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The form allows the IRS to verify whether an employer is subject to penalties under the employer mandate provisions of the ACA. A draft version of the updated form and instructions are available on the IRS website.
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) has successfully defended recent changes to union-representation case procedures for the second time in federal district court. In the latest case, Chamber of Commerce v. NLRB, the AGC-supported U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, along with others, sued the NLRB over the rule in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. On July 29, the court granted the NLRB’s motion for summary judgement.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently released an infographic to help veterans determine whether or not they are protected under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA).
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) recently made available on its website a Checklist for Compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a law requiring that federal contractors take affirmative action and do not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. The new tool was created to help contractors assess their compliance with the regulations that govern the law.
On Wednesday, July 15, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an interpretative guidance memo aimed at addressing the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The DOL's position is that most workers qualify as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its broad definition of "employ."
Only July 23, the House Education and Workforce Committee hosted a hearing to review the impact of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s proposed rule to change the overtime regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. AGC partnered with a joint employer coalition group dedicated to advocating the interests of employers with regard to the proposed changes, which submitted a letter to the House Committee highlighting the impact of the proposed changes on employers.