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On November 4, the White House announced that the deadline for direct federal contractors to have their employees fully vaccinated under the federal contractor vaccine mandate will be same as the new OSHA ETS: January 4, 2022. Previously, the deadline for direct federal contractors was December 8, 2021. It is important to note that federal contractors will still see the contract clause mandating vaccination in federal solicitations, new contracts, etc., as none of the other dates relevant to federal contractors have changed. As of Nov. 4, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force website has not been updated to reflect the extended deadline. However, �鶹��ý expects it to be updated to reflect this announcement from the White House.

On Nov. 4, OSHA released its new COVID-19 emergency temporary standard (ETS). The OSHA ETS will require employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested for infection on at least a weekly basis. CLICK HERE to register for the �鶹��ý of America WebEd Series (at no cost to �鶹��ý members) entitled: “Preparing for the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccine/Testing Mandate” held Nov. 8 through Nov. 11. For more information, click “Learn More.”

On Nov. 4, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its long anticipated COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard (ETS). As anticipated, the ETS requires all employers with 100 or more employees to either mandate vaccinations, or encourage vaccination or weekly testing of all employees. Those who remain unvaccinated must also wear a face covering at work. �鶹��ý will provide comments to this measure designed to fix its many flaws and continue to explore all other possible options to protect the construction industry from the many risks created by this measure. For �鶹��ý’s complete statement on the ETS release, click here.

�鶹��ý’s 2021 Construction HR & Training Professionals Conference wrapped up Oct. 15 after two days of in-person education, sharing of best practices and networking in St. Louis, MO. The conference continues to be a must-attend event for human resources and training professionals in the construction industry.

Negotiators conducting collective bargaining between January and September of this year agreed to raise construction craft workers’ wage and fringe benefits by an average of 2.6 percent or $1.63 during the first contract year, according to the Construction Labor Research Council’s (CLRC) latest Settlements Report. These rates are comparable with increases granted in 2020, but CLRC projects slightly higher increases for the near future.

Many employers are wondering about the extent to which they can incent employees and their dependents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by adjusting medical plan eligibility, modifying medical plan premiums payable by employees, and/or excluding coverage of treatment of the coronavirus where a plan enrollee chooses not to receive the vaccine and then contracts the virus. In this article, Lockton provides thoughts on what’s permissible and what’s not, and views on best practices.

�鶹��ý Hosts Webinar; Continues Dialogue with Agencies; Engaged Legal Counsel

�鶹��ý Seeks Meeting with White House; Engaged Legal Counsel

In a rare victory for employers that participate in multiemployer pension plans, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has held that the interest rate memorialized in the Segal Blend actuarial assumption was inappropriate to use in a withdrawal liability calculation because it is not based on “anticipated experience under the plan.” While likely to be further challenged, the September 28, 2021, opinion in Sofco Erectors, Inc. v. Trustees of the Ohio Operating Engineers Pension Fund, may provide significant leverage to employers in challenging—and settling—withdrawal liability assessments, especially for employers and multiemployer pension plans subject to the jurisdiction of the Sixth Circuit (KY, MI, OH, TN).

The US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division published a new resource for stakeholders in the construction contracting community: the Davis-Bacon Wage Determination Conformance Request Guide. The guide details the information and construction types contained in wage determinations and provides additional clarity regarding the limited circumstances in which contractors and contracting agencies may need to request a new class of laborer or mechanic be added to a published wage determination for a specific contract. For �鶹��ý DBRA resources, visit �鶹��ý’s Labor & HR Topical Resources library and select “Wages and Benefits” as the main category and “Davis-Bacon Act” as the subcategory. You must be logged in as an �鶹��ý member to access the materials.