Posts tagged Associated Builders and Contractors
WIOA Reauthorization Draft Includes “Blacklisting” Provision, Violating Employers’ Due Process Rights
July 3, 2024 // The blacklisting provision, if implemented, would bar employers from WIOA funding based on findings that are still subject to appeal. As a result, an employer may be denied funding even though a court may rule on appeal that the employer did not violate the law. Efforts to blacklist employers from federal initiatives and funding began under the Obama administration when it issued Executive Order 13673, “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces,” in July 2014. The Executive Order called for the debarment or suspension of federal contractors from the federal procurement process for allegations of labor and employment law violations. A final rule and guidance implementing the Executive Order were issued in August 2016, but both were blocked from taking effect by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and by Congress via a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution.
Frisard’s Transportation v. Department of Labor
June 26, 2024 // And the rule affects far more than the 350,000 owner-operator truckers that operate across the nation. It will affect 70 million freelancers in industries across the country, pushing them towards an employment status when 80% of them want to be independent. Similar legislation in California led to a loss of over 10% of freelancers. With the help of the Pelican Institute, Frisard’s has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Labor, arguing that the new rule is arbitrary and exceeds the department’s statutory authority. The company asserts that the rule undermines the certainty businesses and independent contractors need to operate efficiently and is inconsistent with the Fair Labor Standards Act and precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit.
OSHA tries to walk union officials into workplaces
April 9, 2024 // This change is something that unions have long pushed for. OSHA’s official notice for the rulemaking includes numerous statements submitted by unions arguing they should be able to accompany federal inspectors. For example: “The United Steelworkers Union (USW) noted that it has brought in technical experts to serve as designated employee representatives in OSHA inspections.” Not coincidentally, gaining direct access to worksites where management might otherwise try to bar them is a classic union organizing tactic. Granted, OSHA’s new rule would require a worker to invite the union in. That isn’t likely to be a great hurdle for unions thanks to the practice of “salting.” That’s when a union has an organizer covertly apply for an open position at a worksite for the express purpose of organizing.
Commentary: Percentage of Construction Industry Workers in a Union Continues to Decline
April 6, 2024 // Third, construction employers that avoid all unionized projects might leave money on the table. For example, President Joe Biden issued a rule that will require large-scale federal construction projects to be covered by project labor agreements (PLAs) between contractors and unions. Some states have also passed legislation requiring or strongly preferring PLAs for construction projects in developing industries, such as wind power and legalized cannabis. It therefore may make sense to enter into PLAs for certain projects. (Although a PLA usually should only apply to a specific project, employers need to ensure the PLA does not arguably create a long-term relationship with a union.) The rate of unionized construction employees may continue to slowly decline, but union interaction will remain a regular part of the industry. Employers should remain vigilant in their awareness of the NLRA, union organizing, and PLA opportunities, among other legal issues.
Percentage of Construction Industry Workers in a Union Continues to Decline
April 5, 2024 // According to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis, the percentage of construction workers who belong to a union dropped to a record low of 10.7 percent in 2023. This is the latest in a generational shift. Over the past 50 years, the percentage of unionized workers has decreased from 39.5 percent to the new low. Non-union construction employers should still be aware of unions and related labor law issues. We provide a few reasons here. First, the law that covers unionized employers in private industry, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), applies with equal force to non-union employers. Non-union workers still have the NLRA’s protections to engage in protected, concerted activity in support of improved working conditions. That includes group activities that have nothing to do with bringing a union into the workplace.
Ranking Member Cassidy, Kiley Introduce CRA to Overturn New Biden Regulation Threatening 27 Million American Independent Contractors
March 6, 2024 // Independent contractors, or freelancers, make their own hours to fit their schedule and decide where and how they want to work. The Biden administration rule attempts to restrict the ability of American workers to be an independent contractor and take advantage of the flexibility it provides. The rule creates a non-exhaustive, six-factor litmus test for unelected bureaucrats to interpret and decide who is and who is not classified as an independent contractor. It also casts as large a net as possible and gives less legal certainty to independent contractors impacted by the regulation. “The Biden administration’s priority should not be to do whatever makes it easier to forcibly and coercively unionize workers. It should be to increase individual freedom and opportunity,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This new Biden rule does the opposite, jeopardizing 27 million workers’ ability to make their own hours and make a living without being pressured into joining a union.”
Kiley, Cassidy Introduce CRA to Overturn New Biden Regulation Threatening 27 Million American Independent Contractors
March 6, 2024 // “Independent contractors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses are fed up with the Department of Labor continually breathing down their necks,” said Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “The bicameral Congressional Review Act resolution led by Representative Kiley and Senator Cassidy offers Congress the opportunity to take a unified stand against the Department’s thirst for more government control over America’s workforce. Entrepreneurial opportunities and flexibility should be encouraged, not extinguished with heavy-handed mandates from the federal government.” “Gavin Newsom and Julie Su’s AB 5 severely restricted independent contracting in California, destroying thousands of livelihoods and harming California’s economy. As Acting Secretary of Labor, Su and the Biden Administration have announced a new Department of Labor rule, modeled after on the same job-killing AB 5 that will cost millions of independent professionals across the country their livelihoods while restricting the freedom of many millions more to have flexible work arrangements. Our legislation under the Congressional Review Act nullifies this terrible regulation and protects independent contractors,” said Representative Kiley. “Washington should support workers, not regulate them into oblivion.”
Small Businesses File Lawsuit Challenging DOL’s Independent Contractor Rule
March 5, 2024 // NFIB opposed DOL’s 2024 final rule on independent contractors, arguing that the rule further complicates the worker classification process for small businesses. Small business owners supported the 2021 rule, which offered a straightforward test for determining who is and is not an independent contractor. NFIB filed the complaint with the Coalition for Workforce Innovation, Associated Builders and Contractors of Southeast Texas, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Financial Services Institute, Inc., Chamber of the Commerce of the United States, National Retail Federation, and American Trucking Associations.
Opinion: Construction Unions Face Fork In The Road: Shrink Or Seize The Moment
February 16, 2024 // “This is the best shot the unions have had in decades,” said Joshua Freeman, a Queens College, City University of New York history professor. “There’s low unemployment, a sympathetic administration, an infrastructure ramp and sympathetic public attitudes. Lots of things are going in the right direction for unions.”
The Impacts of Chevron Deference on Labor and Industry
February 7, 2024 // The Amicus brief alleges that the Chevron doctrine has enabled the NLRB’s “unworkable track record of frequent flip-flopping,” due in part to a consistently changing Board. According to the filing by CDW, “the Board’s membership is subject to frequent and continued change, and whenever a new Board majority disagrees with a prior precedent, it often overrules that precedent.” Additionally, “it is customary (though not mandated by statute) that no more than three of the five members will belong to the President’s political party.” This means each President can guarantee a majority of the Board will share his ideological priorities. The CDW argues this has created instability as rules are constantly changing with each new Board.