Eldon Morrison, past president of AGC of Maine, addresses the group during a panel on chapter best practices.

AGC Chapter leaders, including executives and presidents, are meeting in Washington, D.C., over four days to discuss best practices and meet with Congress to discuss AGC's top legislative issues.

The annual National and Chapter Leadership Conference includes speakers from Capitol Hill and breakout sessions to discuss the industry's most pressing issues, including federal contracting requirements and new labor, employment and safety initiatives.

George Will addresses meeting attendees.

On the second day of the meeting, George Will, award-winning political columnist, told attendees that the United States has always believed in infrastructure, and that passing a new, robust surface transportation bill shouldn't be difficult.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

A hot topic for discussion throughout 2009 has been the anticipated increase of new employment laws potentially introduced by the Obama administration.  While these new laws have not yet surfaced, the administration has focused heavily on the increased enforcement of existing employment laws by government agencies across the board, and employers are encouraged to prepare now or face tough penalties.

Leading the pack when it comes to the enforcement of employment laws is the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).  Headed-up by the newly appointed Secretary of Labor, Hilda L. Solis, this agency has come out strong with its intent to enforce the many laws already under its belt that protect workers against unfair wage, discrimination and safety practices.  DOL is even eliminating the agency that stands between the Office of the Secretary and the sub-agencies, the Employment Standards Administration, in an attempt to more closely monitor their efforts.  In an announcement on September 2, Secretary Solis stated, "As secretary of labor, I am committed to the vigorous enforcement of our laws and will make use of the full weight of my authority to find and prosecute violators."

The announcement was soon followed with the hiring of 250 new investigators in the agency's Wage & Hour Division (WHD) in order to monitor wage and hour violations including overtime, minimum wage and prevailing wage violations.  Of specific importance to the construction industry is the renewed enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act, the prevailing wage law for federal construction contractors.  At a recent Prevailing Wage Conference, sponsored by WHD, officials guaranteed increased enforcement for prevailing wage issues as it relates to the Davis-Bacon Act, including the review of certified payroll records, overtime violations and apprenticeship practices, with a special focus on construction projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

WHD isn't the only DOL sub-agency focused on the enforcement of ARRA-funded projects.  OFCCP, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which is responsible for ensuring that contractors doing business with the federal government do not discriminate and take affirmative action, recently announced in its Recovery Act Plan that since the majority of ARRA funding and grants will provide direct funding or federal assistance to construction projects, then "consequently, OFCCP will place a special emphasis on the construction industry" when it comes to enforcement.  Beginning in July 2009, OFCCP promised to begin compliance reviews for at least 360 construction contractors, including at least 10% of first-time federal contractors.  These reviews will be followed by quarterly compliance evaluations through September 30, 2010.

For more information, click here.

Compliance assistance will also take a front seat at AGC's 2009 HR Professionals Conference with an employment law workshop, immigration law update and our first ever Department of Labor forum, with representatives from OFCCP, WHD, OSHA and the Employment Benefit Standards Administration (EBSA) .  The Conference will take place October 27-29, in Atlanta, Ga. Click here for conference details and registration.

AGC of America, in cooperation with AGC of  New Hampshire, sent a letter last week to the Department of Labor expressing concerns about the agency's decision to include a project labor agreement (PLA) mandate in solicitations related to the construction of a new Job Corps Center in Manchester, N.H., and demanding information about the agency's justification and decision-making process.

The letter specifically questions whether and how the agency determined that the conditions listed in President Obama's executive order on PLAs are present.  The executive order encourages executive agencies to require a PLA under the following conditions:

1.      The project will cost the federal government $25 million or more;
2.      Use of a PLA on the project will advance the federal government's interest in achieving economy and efficiency in federal procurement;
3.      Use of a PLA on the project will advance the federal government's interest in producing labor-management stability;
4.      Use of a PLA on the project will advance the federal government's interest in ensuring compliance with laws and regulations governing safety and health, equal employment opportunity, labor and employment standards, and other matters; and
5.      Use of a PLA will be consistent with law.

The letter also requests information about the PLA itself, such as whether an agreement has already been selected and who will or has negotiated its terms.

Click here to view the letter.  Click here to view a related press release.

AGC is also trying to stay informed about federal agency PLA activity.  If your chapter becomes aware of any PLA mandates on federal or federally assisted construction projects, please send information to Marco Giamberardino at giamberm@agc.org.

Construction employment saw significant declines in all but two states this August compared to last year, according to AGC's analysis of new state-by-state employment figures released September 18 by the federal government.  However, the number of states gaining construction jobs increased slightly in August compared to July 2009.

Read AGC's press release and view the state-by state construction employment here. Read coverage of the release from the California Real Estate Journal, Wabash Valley Journal of Business and Building Design and Construction.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

AGC's CEO Steve Sandherr told Bloomberg News that "across the country, only transportation projects have lived up to the stimulus package's promise." AGC has called on government agencies to move more quickly in getting stimulus projects out in order to put construction workers back on the job.

The article also quotes AGC member Mike Welch of BRB Contractors Inc., who has experienced delays with a stimulus-funded water project in the Kansas City area.

Read the article here.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

The Associated Press reported on surface and air transportation funding bills that are unlikely to include major improvements or additional funding due to lawmakers' concentration on health care. In the article, AGC's chief executive officer Steve Sandherr called for a long-term investment instead of short-term fixes. Read the article here.

AGC also raised this issue in the Wisconsin Daily Reporter, where AGC's Brian Deery explained the need for a six-year surface transportation bill, California Real Estate Journal, and Bloomberg News, where Michael Griffith, vice president of AGC member company J.F. Allen Co., explained how state transportation officials' inability to make investments has forced him to lay off workers during the height of the company's typical busy season.

For more information, contact Brian Turmail at (703) 837-5310 or turmailb@agc.org.

After months of attempting to find common ground on a comprehensive health care reform bill, the Senate Finance Committee began their markup of the America's Healthy Future Act last week without any initial Republican support.  The goal of Democratic leaders was to finish the markup by the end of last week and to start the process of merging the bill with the version from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. However, senators offered over 500 amendments including proposal to include a public option and to include employer mandates. These contentious amendments and delays in receiving a final cost estimate from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has slowed the process down.

Democratic leaders remain committed to passing legislation later this fall and have threatened to pass the bill without Republican support if necessary. While three House committees passed their versions of the legislation out of committee in July, Democratic leaders appear to be waiting to see how the Senate progresses on reform. AGC opposes the House version of reform.

Details of the nearly $900 billion Senate Finance Committee draft are still being negotiated, but would impact many employers. The current draft would be financed by a 35 percent tax on premium plans (costing more than $8,000 for individuals, $21,000 for families), cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, and penalties on employers for employees that receive government subsidies for coverage. The legislation requires all individuals to be covered either through employers, individual plans or through a government plan. The current draft does not require employers to offer coverage, but companies with more than 50 full-time workers would have to pay fees for each employee that is eligible and receives government subsidies. The subsidies are only available to low-income individuals.

The legislation also contains tax credits for small employers to go toward purchasing health insurance. The credits are similar to other bills in that they provide a limited value and too few employers will qualify. However, the threshold for the tax credits may be raised through the amendment process.

Aspects of the bill that remain troubling to AGC are the failure of the legislation to address malpractice reform and the overly burdensome tax compliance changes that are unnecessary and will overwhelm many businesses.

For more information, contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.

On September 17, 2009, the House passed H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, which authorizes more than $4 billion for elementary and secondary school facility projects over the next two fiscal years, and ensures that school districts will receive funds for school modernization, renovation and repairs that create healthier, safer and more energy-efficient teaching and learning climates. The bill allocates the same percentage of funds to school districts that they receive under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, except that it guarantees each such district a minimum of $5,000. The bill also provides grants to states to help community colleges finance new construction, modernization, renovation and repair projects.

While AGC supports the overall bill, it includes the same Buy American language as was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act).

AGC has long-advocated for additional investment in school construction, as there is substantial opportunity for investment in upgrading and improving the unmet need for school construction and renovation, which is estimated to be $3.7 billion. The average age of a public school building is estimated to be over 40 years old, the same age that schools have been documented to deteriorate.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. AGC will urge Senators to support the bill without the onerous Buy American restrictions.

For more information, contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.

Congress must take action to repeal an $8.7 billion rescission of federal highway funds set to hit the states on September 30. While for some states this will not have a direct effect, in many states the rescission will result in an actual cut in funding for highway construction projects.

Congress included the $8.7 billion rescission in SAFETEA-LU as a way to make the total funding in the bill fit within federal budgeting parameters. At the time, the intent was to find other budget offsets to prevent the rescission from actually being implemented. However, Congress never took the necessary action. The impact on states will vary depending on the amount of unobligated budget authority each has on the books and in which highway funding categories.

For more information, contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.

With SAFETEA-LU, the six-year transportation authorization legislation, expiring tomorrow, congressional action is necessary to keep the highway and transit programs operating. The House and Senate are taking different approaches to reauthorization of the programs and the likely short-term outcome is to provide a 30-day extension through the Continuing Resolution (CR). A CR is necessary because Congress has failed to pass any of the Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations bill necessary to keep government agencies operating beginning October 1.

In the House, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) continues to press for enactment of a six-year reauthorization bill with significantly increased funding levels. He favors limiting the length of an extension to three months so that Congress will continue to make progress on passage of a long-term bill. The House approved a three-month extension of highway and transit program authorization to allow time to continue to work on the longer term bill.

The Obama Administration and key members of the Senate are pushing for an eighteen-month extension to delay debate on the legislation and how to provide the necessary revenue until 2011. Key members of the Senate support this position and legislation to extend authorization for eighteen months has been reported out of the appropriate committees. However, other pressing Senate business will keep the bill from being taken up at this time. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) indicated that she intends to continue drafting a multi-year bill during this extension. An amendment to limit the extension in the Senate to less than 18 months is expected.

AGC continues to advocate the need for six-year reauthorization legislation with significantly increased revenues to address the nation's growing transportation infrastructure deficit, while working to ensure there is no disruption in program funding in the interim.

For more information, contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or deeryb@agc.org.