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On Dec. 19, the House passed H.R. 5430, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act (USMCA). The passage of this legislation represents a major first step towards ratification of the newly negotiated trade pact between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The Senate is set to consider USMCA in the new year. �鶹��ý has long supported this measure due to the significant economic impact trade with our North American neighbors has on the construction industry. Ratification of this new agreement will help ensure that trade impacting the construction industry supply chain remains free, fair, and certain.

On Dec. 19, the Senate passed many non-funding �鶹��ý-backed measures as part of the agreement reached to fund the federal government through the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2020. This measure is expected to become law, pending the President’s signature. This legislation extends authorization for the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIA) for seven years, as well as the National Flood Insurance Program for one year. These programs provide an important government backstop for natural and man-made disasters that would otherwise prevent commercial construction projects from moving forward. Additionally, this bill addresses many priorities in the tax, healthcare, and retirement space.

�鶹��ý members and chapter staff who negotiate collective bargaining agreements for their company or chapter are invited to a half-day Collective Bargaining Seminar that will take place during �鶹��ý of America’s 2020 Convention in the morning of March 9 in Las Vegas, NV.

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) on December 13 released a final procedural regulation rolling back some of the onerous requirements of the “quickie election” rule issued by the agency under the Obama Administration. The new rule, which was released at the end stages of lone Democrat Board Member McFerran’s term, is slated to take effect in April 2020.

For the eleventh year in a row, �鶹��ý of America has been named as one of the nation’s top lobbying operations by Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill. The publication’s annual ranking of top lobbyists lists �鶹��ý CEO Steve Sandherr as a top lobbyist. Sandherr said the listing is a really an acknowledgement of the quality of the association’s government relations team, noting that the team secured $7.6 billion in federal highway funding that Congress had planned to cut, a disaster aid package with billions of dollars dedicated to rebuilding impacted communities, and regulatory reforms to lower the bureaucratic burden on the industry, among other accomplishments this year.

The U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) released a final rule updating the regulations governing regular rate requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for the first time in more than 50 years. Regular rate requirements define what forms of payment employers include and exclude in the "time and one-half" calculation when determining workers' overtime rates. The rule focuses primarily on clarifying whether certain kinds of perks, benefits, or other miscellaneous items must be included in the regular rate. Because these regulations have not been updated in decades, the Department’s intent is to better define the regular rate for today's workplace practices. Click “read more” for further information on the new rule.

On Dec. 10, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced a bipartisan agreement on the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) that will allow the trade pact to move forward in the House as soon as next week. Once a House vote is taken, the measure will move to the Senate for consideration. The Trump administration announced an agreement in principle on this newly negotiated version of NAFTA in late 2018 and has been working with Congress throughout the duration of this year to secure its passage. �鶹��ý applauds this announcement and will continue to support USMCA as it moves through the ratification process. An updated agreement with our North American trading partners is long overdue and will help ensure that trade impacting the construction industry supply chain remains free, fair, and certain.

Guest Article by Anthony Kane, ISI - Resilience is a key component of sustainability where as an industry we have made significant advancements in recent years. In 2015 when the decision was made to begin work on a new version of Envision—the sustainable infrastructure framework—the primary driver was the industry’s expanding and evolving understanding of resilience. In April 2018, after three years of development, the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure released Envision v3 with a significantly expanded focus on how infrastructure should address both short-term shocks (hurricanes, wildfires, etc.) and long-term stressors (sea level rise, aging infrastructure, aging populations, etc.).

Having a resilient jobsite is an important part of mitigating the daily risks of weather events, but what happens when a natural disaster occurs? �鶹��ý’s ConstructorCast new two-part series explores just this question. Tune in this December (part 1) and January (part 2) for three experts in claims management, litigation, and restoration. Find out how they have worked through the tough issues of pre-loss planning for your project sites, lessons in mitigating losses, restoration challenges, as well as insurance and claims.