Wage theft – a broad term referring to various ways by which employers fail to pay employees their full compensation – is a growing concern and reportedly a bigger problem in construction than in any other industry. Many state and local governments have adopted wage theft laws that give workers new ways to recover unpaid wages, impose on employers new compliance obligations and liabilities, and increase the penalties for violations. Contractors operating in multiple jurisdictions especially need to know about the changing landscape.

In its latest Settlements Report, the AGC-supported Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) advises that construction-industry collective bargaining agreements settled from January through June of 2023 provide an average increase in wages, fringe benefits and other employer payments for union craft workers in the construction industry had an average increase of 4.4 percent.

AGC to offer an educational webinar on July 27 to help contractors prepare for what to expect from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs in upcoming audits and if they become involved in your Mega Projects.

In its unanimous June 29 decision in Groff v. DeJoy, the U.S Supreme Court disrupted decades of precedent in ruling that, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employer that rejects a religious accommodation request on the basis of “undue hardship” must prove a burden well beyond a “de minimis cost.” The employer must establish that the rejected accommodation requires “substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of [the employer’s] particular business.” The Court further clarified that a negative impact on co-workers resulting from the requested accommodation does not automatically qualify the accommodation as an “undue hardship.” The new test must be satisfied whether the “substantial increased costs” result from an impact on co-workers or otherwise.

AGC to Offer Educational Webinar on July 27th to Help Contractors Prepare

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division recently published Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2023-2, Enforcement of Protections for Employees to Pump Breast Milk at Work.

Looking to tackle your biggest construction HR & workforce challenges? There's no better place than the Construction HR & Workforce Conference!

Four Things Employers Need to Know

The Associated General Contractors of America recently urged the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division to abandon or at least postpone issuance of its anticipated proposed rulemaking altering the overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Even though the COVID-19 public health emergency has been lifted, concerns with supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages, inflationary pressures, and the shifting dynamics of the American workforce persist, and any rule change now would threaten a particularly vulnerable and recovering economy.