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On Feb. 12, President Obama signed an executive order that raises the minimum wage for direct federal contractors to $10.10 per hour.  Federally assisted contracts are not affected.  The new mandate affects contracts entered into on or after Jan. 1, 2015.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has scheduled six upcoming seminars throughout the country to educate federal and federally assisted contractors on the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and other federal contracting wage laws the agency enforces.  Each two-and-a-half day seminar will address such topics as the process of obtaining wage determinations and adding classifications, compliance assistance and enforcement procedures, and the process of appealing wage rates.  Topics for a series of special sessions on the final day of the seminars will be announced on site.

On March 20, 2014, �鶹��Ƶwill host a webinar on the implications of one of the most talked-about state laws that is sweeping its way across the country, legalized marijuana.  The webinar, Legalized Marijuana: Implications for the Construction Workplace, will be held from 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. EDT.  Registration is $99 for members and $129 for non-members. 

�鶹��Ƶis seeking presentations for one of its most sought-after annual conferences, the Construction HR and Training Professionals Conference.  For 2014, the conference will be located in Phoenix, Ariz., Oct. 15-17. A Federal Construction HR Workshop will be held Oct. 15, in conjunction with the Conference.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (LA, MS, TX) has overturned a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) decision prohibiting employers from requiring employees to sign arbitration agreements containing waivers of the right to pursue class action and collective action claims in court or arbitration. As reported earlier, the NLRB ruled that such a requirement interferes with employees’ rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act to engage in protected concerted activity. The court disagreed, finding that the NLRB failed to give proper weight to the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”).

�鶹��Ƶheld its annual webinar to train construction contractors about the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts on Dec. 5 and 10, 2013.  Archives of each session of the two-part series titled “Davis-Bacon:  Understanding, Influencing, and Complying with Federal Prevailing Wage Requirements” are available for purchase and immediate viewing from AGC’s online bookstore. 

Once again, HR and Training Professionals in the Construction Industry will come together in October for AGC’s Construction HR and Training Professionals Conference. The Conference will take place Oct. 15-17 in Phoenix, Ariz. at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown. Information about the event is located on the �鶹��Ƶwebsite. Registration will open in the Spring.

On Feb. 5, 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) re-issued a proposed rule that would expedite the election process in union representation cases, likely to unions’ advantage. The rule appears to be identical to a rule proposed back in 2011.  A shortened version was finalized and took effect in 2012, but was invalidated by a court on procedural grounds shortly thereafter.  The NLRB recently withdrew its appeal of the court’s decision and formally rescinded the rule.

The Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) and Horizon Actuarial Services have released a second edition of their Inventory of Construction Industry Pension Plans.  The Inventory provides historical data from all multiemployer pension plans in the construction industry.  It includes analyses of key trends in plan demographics, cash flows, investments, funding, costs, and expenses. One of the enhancements of the new edition is inclusion of plan features by specific craft.

Most construction contractors predict that the demand for construction services will either grow or remain stable in virtually every market segment this year, and many firms plan to start hiring again, according to AGC’s recently released survey results conducted as part of Optimism Returns: The 2014 Construction Industry Hiring and Business Outlook.  The survey results reflect a generally upbeat outlook for the year, even as firms worry about growing worker shortages, rising costs, and the impact of new regulations and federal budget cutting.