The Cadillac tax of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) begins in 2018. While many employers recently have adjusted health benefit coverage levels to satisfy the legal minimums of the Employer Mandate, the Cadillac tax may require these same employers to once again adjust coverage levels but this time to avoid exceeding maximum levels specified by ACA.

In response to requests from federal and federally assisted contractors, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has created a directory of organizations and other entities that offer resources and guidance to employers around issues related to creating an inclusive workplace for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees. The request came from employers wanting to better understand how to treat employees and job applicants without regard to their sexual orientation or gender identity following the publication of the Final Rule implementing Executive Order 13672.

In addition to a lawsuit challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new representation-case procedures rule (also known as the Quickie Election rule), legislation in Congress will be considered that would nullify the rule. The Congressional Review Act (CRA) is a resolution that would nullify the regulation, if passed by both chambers and signed by the president. The resolution could be introduced in the Senate as early as next week and a similar proposal will make its way through the House. The CRA is a powerful procedural tool that Congress can use to exert oversight over the administration and requires only a simple majority in the Senate, therefore eliminating the typical 60 vote threshold needed in the Senate to pass legislation. While the CRA has been used successfully once before, it would remain unlikely that the president would sign such a bill and therefore the best option for blocking the rule remains the judicial challenge.

Union representation in the construction industry fell from 14.9 percent to 14.7 percent in 2014, according to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The number of union-represented workers in the industry actually rose over the year (from 967,000 to 1,023,000), but at a lower rate than the rise in the total number of workers employed in the industry (from 6,474,000 to 6,968,000). Likewise, the number of workers in the industry who were members of a union increased over the year (from 915,000 to 968,000) while the percentage fell (from 14.1 percent to 13.9 percent). In 2013, union representation rose in the industry (from 13.7 percent to 14.9 percent) as did union membership (from 13.2 percent to 14.1 percent).

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently issued a controversial decision that employees may use their employer’s email system(s), during non-working time, to communicate with each other about workplace issues, such as wages, union organizing efforts, and other terms and conditions of employment. The decision, in Purple Communications, Inc., 361 NLRB No. 126, reversed the NLRB’s 2007 decision in Register Guard, 351 NLRB No. 70, which had held that employees have no statutory right to use their employer’s email system(s) for non-business purposes.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) posted information on its website alerting contractors that they are no longer required to invite applicants to self-identify with a particular category of protected veterans post-offer. The posting came in the form of an update to its Frequently Asked Questions page regarding the regulations set to enforce the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA). The regulations went into effect in March of 2014.

Two AGC-supported employer groups and other interested parties have jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s new representation-case procedures rule.  The rule – often called the “quickie election” or “ambush election” rule – expedites the process in cases where a union files a petition for an election to become the exclusive collective bargaining representative of a unit of workers.

Construction contractors will have an easier time learning how to comply with federal and state environmental guidelines thanks to a new partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the private sector. The partnership between AGC of America, EPA and the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) will allow for a significant upgrade to the Construction Industry Compliance Assistance website, or CICA Center for short, association officials noted.

Construction-industry collective bargaining negotiations settled during 2014 resulted in an average first-year increase in wages and benefits of $1.07 per hour or 2.3 percent, according to the annual 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 $1.31 or 2.4 percent, and the average third-year increase was $1.37 or 2.5 percent.

An archive of each session of AGC’s recent two-part webinar on Understanding the Davis-Bacon Act and the New Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Law is now available for purchase and immediate viewing from AGC’s online bookstore. Visit http://store.agc.org/ and search for product codes WB294 and WB295. Be sure to login to see member pricing.