Enacts One-Year Federal-Aid Highway & Transit Extension
Each October, construction industry professionals in HR, training and workforce development gear up for the industry鈥檚 premier learning and networking event, 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 Construction HR & Training Professionals Conference, and this year is no different. The 2020 event has gone completely virtual and will be held Oct. 6-8, 2020.
On September 22, 乌鸦传媒 sent a letter of support for the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Amendments of 2020 introduced by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) ahead of a September 23 hearing on the bill. The bill complements and builds on changes the Trump Administration made last year by further empowering States and Tribes in the recovery of species, permitting the prioritization of resources, promoting recovery and delisting, and incentivizing engagement in voluntary conservation efforts. 乌鸦传媒 also supports studying the administrative and litigation expenses associated with the ESA.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced a proposed rule clarifying the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as it relates to independent contractors. 乌鸦传媒 has long called for federal clarification of the independent contractor status and preservation of legitimate independent contractor relationships, such as those that have historically existed in the construction industry.
乌鸦传媒 Seeks to Protect Employers鈥 Right to Maintain Safe Workplaces
While not ideal, enactment of a short-term continuing resolution (CR) will ensure federal agencies remain open and ongoing projects for direct federal contractors (e.g., those with contracts directly with the U.S. Army Corps, Navy, General Services Administration, etc.) remain uninterrupted through December 11. However, federal construction projects that need fiscal year 2021 funds to begin or start a new phase are prohibited from moving forward. That does not mean that all or many direct federal construction projects will grind to a halt, because the majority continue to utilize funds from previous fiscal years (thus falling outside the new project starts prohibition). Fully funding the government will be back at center stage in December. Nevertheless, 乌鸦传媒 has resources available to your company in the event of a partial or complete federal government shutdown: What Contractors Should Know in the Event the Government Shuts Down.
One-Year Extension of the FAST Act Included
The U.S. Department of Labor announced a proposed rule clarifying the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as it relates to independent contractors. 乌鸦传媒 has long called for federal clarification of the independent contractor status and preservation of legitimate independent contractor relationships, such as those that have historically existed in the construction industry.
Each October, construction industry professionals in HR, training and workforce development gear up for the industry鈥檚 premier learning and networking event, 乌鸦传媒鈥檚 Construction HR & Training Professionals Conference, and this year is no different. The 2020 event has gone completely virtual and will be held Oct. 6-8. For more information or to register, visit here.
In a move sure to frustrate employers and usher in a wave of confusion, a New York federal court judge just struck down critical portions of the Labor Department鈥檚 new joint employer rule that went into effect a few months ago. Concluding that the agency鈥檚 rule has 鈥渕ajor flaws,鈥 U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods decided yesterday that the rule did not comport with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The September 8 ruling tosses out the new standard that had applied to 鈥渧ertical鈥 employment relationships (when staffing company or subcontractor workers are contracted to work with another entity, for example), while keeping intact the rarer 鈥渉orizontal鈥 relationships between related entities that employ the same worker 鈥 which was not significantly changed by the final rule. Affected employers may have to chart a more difficult course in order to ensure they are not deemed liable in joint employer situations.