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�鶹��ý filed comments this week on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s joint proposed rule to repeal the 2015 definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). �鶹��ý offered strong support for the agencies’ plan to re-codify regulatory text that existed prior to the 2015 WOTUS rule to “reflect[] the current legal regime under which the agencies are operating” following a nationwide stay of the rule by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) now has a full complement of five members with a Republican majority for the first time in roughly a decade. This follows from the September 27 swearing in of Republican William J. Emanuel as a Board member for a term ending on August 27, 2021. Emanuel is the second Trump nominee to join the Board, following Republican Marvin E. Kaplan’s swearing in on August 10 for a term ending on August 27, 2020.

On September 25, �鶹��ý submitted comments to the U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) in response to a Request for Information (RFI) on the 2016 changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations. In line with �鶹��ý’s regulatory recommendations, this RFI is the first step the DOL is undertaking to revisit the overtime rule that dramatically increased the salary threshold for exempt employees. �鶹��ý and its members were concerned that imposing such a large and immediate increase might result in unintended consequences, particularly for small construction companies, construction employers in lower‐wage regions, and construction personnel.

Join Us Again Next Year on September 12-13, 2018, in Crystal City, Virginia!

On Sept. 7, �鶹��ý held a comprehensive webinar detailing not only the requirements of the U.S. the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) respirable crystalline silica standard for the construction industry, but also the perspective of and testimonials from prime and specialty contractors implementing the regulation. Construction industry safety professionals from �鶹��ý member firms Haselden Construction—a vertical building general contractor—Kokosing Construction Company—a heavy highway and industrial general contractor—and Faith Technologies—an electrical specialty contractor—discussed how they are dealing with the real world impacts of carrying out this standard on a wide variety of construction jobs.

Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between August 2016 and August 2017, while 30 states added construction jobs between July and August amid strong demand for construction work in most parts of the country, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released today. Association officials said that more states likely would have added new construction jobs except for the fact 70 percent of firms report having a hard time finding craft workers to hire.

�鶹��ý Submits Recommendations

Presents Case to Senate Committee

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that the agency will support Hurricane Harvey and Irma relief efforts in a number of ways, including by relaxing federal contractors’ requirements on a temporary basis. As part of the initiative, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will be temporarily suspending certain requirements on federal contractors to allow “businesses involved in hurricane relief the ability to prioritize recovery efforts.”

A U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judge (ALJ) has held that the employer, not the workers, primarily benefited from lodging used by itinerant workers hired to work on a federal dredging project away from their home communities. As a result, the employer was required under the Davis-Bacon Act to cover the full cost of the employees’ lodging expenses.