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To celebrate the National Safety Stand-down, May 7-11, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is providing several resources on preventing workplace hazards, including a webinar on fall prevention in the construction industry. 

The one-hour webinar, developed by OSHA Region 6 and OSHA Education Centers in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, will be available from May 7 to May 11 and will focus on compliance with OSHA’s new construction fall standards and its training requirements. 

Additionally, the OSHA website provides fall prevention resources for employers and employees, which include stand-down partner materials, outreach training materials, fall safety videos and information on ladders and scaffolds.

For more information on National Safety Stand-down events, visit the OSHA website. 

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has extended the deadline for filing the 2017 EEO-1 Survey from March 31 to June 1, 2018.

According to the EEOC FAQs, for the 2017 EEO-1 reporting cycle, the EEO-1 will collect data on the race, ethnicity and sex of workers by job category from private employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees or $50,000 in contract(s).

According to the EEO-1 Survey web page, an email will be sent to the EEO-1 company contact introducing the new EEO-1 survey application. Any questions on the new survey should be directed to 1 (877) 392-4647. 

In August 2017, the Office of Management and Budget initiated a review and immediate stay of the EEOC’s collection of pay and hours worked on the revised EEO-1 report issued under the Obama administration. 

For more information, visit the EEO-1 Survey web page. 

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ABC and the U.S. Veterans Business Alliance (USVBA) recently signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on expanding the participation of veteran and disabled veteran businesses in the merit shop construction industry. 

“ABC members are committed to achieving a fully inclusive and culturally competent workforce that is welcoming to all people, where employees and suppliers are limited only by their own potential,” said Michael D. Bellaman, ABC president and CEO. “Qualified veteran and disabled veteran subcontractor and suppliers provide value to building and construction projects and to the economy as a whole, and we support USVBA’s mission to help them succeed.” 

“USVBA and ABC find mutual purpose in promoting an environment in which fair and open competition enhances veteran and disabled veteran business participation,” said Mike Wray, a USVBA national board member. “Veterans’ experience in the military prepares them to be smart, capable entrepreneurs, striving to achieve the highest levels of personal and company performance.” 

The two organizations agree to: 

·       Share information about business opportunities;

·       Help ABC members identify and connect with qualified potential veteran and disabled veteran subcontractors and suppliers;

·       Participate in outreach events sponsored by each organization to promote business opportunities for veteran and disabled veteran businesses;

·       Encourage ABC members to become formal sponsors of the USVBA; and

·       Support expansion of the market for building and construction by cooperating wherever possible. 

The agreement was signed on March 20 during ABC Convention 2018 in Long Beach, Calif. 

U.S. Veterans Business Alliance (USVBA) is a vibrant organization that empowers, provides resources to, and works side-by-side with veterans to promote and support them in establishing, maintaining and growing viable business enterprises. The Alliance has helped thousands achieve financial rehabilitation through entrepreneurship. We help disabled veterans achieve the satisfaction, pride and independence that comes from running their own business. Visit us at gousvba.org. 

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 that represents more than 21,000 members. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC and its 70 chapters help members develop people, win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which ABC and its members work. Visit us at abc.org.

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On April 12, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division released three opinion letters that address compliance issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and other similar laws.

According to the DOL news release, these opinion letters discuss the following:

– What counts as work time under the FLSA when employees travel for work
– Whether 15-minute rest breaks required every hour by an employee’s serious health condition must be paid or may be uncompensated
– Whether certain lump-sum payments from employers to employees are considered “earnings” for garnishment purposes under Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act

For 70 years, the DOL had a longstanding practice of issuing opinion letters, which are used to show how a particular law applies in specific circumstances, but the practice was ended in 2010, according to the DOL news release. In June 2017, DOL Secretary Alexander Acosta announced that the department would resume issuing opinion letters. 

The DOL website provides additional information on requesting an opinion letter.   

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As a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December 2017, 55 percent of ABC contractor members plan to hire more employees, and 52 percent plan to invest in workforce development, according to a recent poll. In addition, 90 percent of member companies say employees have seen an increase in their paychecks.

“This Tax Day, we are celebrating the positive results of the first reform of the tax code in decades—one that will unlock the full economic potential of ABC’s 21,000 members,” said Michael Bellaman, president and CEO of ABC. “Our members are grateful to Congress and the Trump administration for reduced tax rates on C-corps and pass-throughs, higher exemptions for small businesses, the repeal of corporate AMT and the elimination of the ACA individual mandate.”

As capital-intensive, low-margin, domestically oriented businesses comprised largely of small, family-owned and closely held merit shop construction firms, ABC members feel the positive effects of tax reform.   

“Due to the passage of tax reform and optimism on infrastructure and the economy, we have given our employees across-the-board bonuses, added sick leave for all hourly employees and plan to hire 50 to 100 additional workers in the next six months,” said Jay Baldwin, president of Reliable Contracting Co. Inc., a 90-year-old, family-owned road and highway contractor employing 400 people in the Baltimore-Washington area. “We will also be making significant capital expenditures, including a new asphalt plant.”

According to analysis by the U.S. Department of Treasury, the construction industry paid the highest effective tax rate of any sector of the nation’s economy—27 percent, compared to an average of 22 percent for other industries—from 2007 to 2011.

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Commercial and industrial construction contractors entered 2018 with abundant confidence regarding sales and staffing levels for the next six months, according to the latest Construction Confidence Index (CCI) released by ABC. All three components surveyed—sales, profit margins and staffing levels—remained well above 50 in the diffusion index, signaling ongoing progress. But the average contractor is less confident about profit margins than they were a year ago.

• The CCI for sales expectations increased from 66.4 in the first half of 2017 to 67.1.
• The CCI for profit margin expectations fell from 62.4 to 60.7.
• The CCI for staffing levels fell from 66.1 to 65.1.

“Despite the absence of an infrastructure-led stimulus package, leadership at the typical American construction firm remains upbeat regarding near-term prospects,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Many firms, including large general contractors, report significant backlog, with office, data center, lodging, fulfillment center and other segments representing key sources of growth. While construction sales are expected to increase, growth in firm profitability is likely to prove more challenging as contractors deal with a combination of rising construction materials prices and worker compensation.

“The CCI survey was conducted during the second half of 2017, when discussions about tax cuts were front and center, but before current debates regarding U.S. trade policy and tariffs on key construction inputs such as steel and aluminum,” Basu said. “These confidence readings are consistent with the notion that contractors are increasingly concerned by rising compensation and materials costs.

“Still, more than half of surveyed firms expect 2018 profit margins to expand, at least during the year’s initial half. While only about 5 percent expect significant growth in profitability, 47 percent expect some expansion in margins. This is symptomatic of a strong U.S. economy—one in which the typical purchaser of construction services is not discouraged by the rising cost of construction service delivery. 

“Among the primary beneficiaries of this strong economic dynamic and upbeat expectations are jobseekers. The construction unemployment rate has trended lower over time, and the most recent CCI survey indicates that the majority of firms expect to bulk up on staffing levels during the near term. Nearly 63 percent of respondents indicate they will expand their staffing during the next few months. By contrast, fewer than 7 percent expect to reduce company employment,” said Basu, “That is remarkable given the on-again, off-again nature of construction work.”

CCI is a diffusion index. Readings above 50 indicate growth, while readings below 50 are unfavorable.  

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and SCORE Association will host a free, three-day Virtual Conference during SBA’s 2018 National Small Business Week, May 1-3.

The Virtual Conference, which takes place from 12:30-6:30 p.m. ET each day, includes a series of webinars led by private sector employers that give practical advice on current business strategies. Topics for the webinars include discrimination and harassment in the workplace, the U.S. economic outlook and its impact on small businesses, cybersecurity for small businesses and more.       

The Virtual Conference also includes chat rooms where business owners can network with other owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Other SBA activities during National Small Business Week include awards ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, April 29, and Monday, April 30, a multi-city bus tour from Tuesday, May 1, to Thursday, May 3, and an NSBW twitter chat on Friday, May 4 at 12 p.m. ET. 

Details on each of these events can be found on the SBA website. Registration for the Virtual Conference is free.

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ABC’s Construction Executive magazine was included in a list of the top 20 contractor magazines issued by GenieBelt, a construction project management software company. The magazine also won a Silver Azbee Award of Excellence for the Mid-Atlantic region from the American Society of Business Publication Editors last week.

CE ranks third on GenieBelt’s list in terms of Twitter followers (@ConstructionMag), serving as “an excellent way for every contractor to come in contact with the most prominent influences in construction” and “establishing connections with some of the brightest through leaders in the industry.” CE’s Silver Azbee Award of Excellence was for its profile of 2016 ABC Contractor of the Year hth companies, which appeared in the March 2017 issue. This is the third Azbee award CE has won in the past five years.

In addition to social media, industry members can access CE’s award-winning content through its ConstructionExec.com website, CE This Week newsletter and mobile app.

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On April 9, federal agency heads signed the “One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding,” which will further implement the administration’s executive order to streamline the federal permitting process for major infrastructure projects. ABC expressed support for the executive order when it was announced in 2017. 

The MOU calls for greater coordination between federal agencies, establishing permitting timetables under a designated “lead agency” to provide a single environmental impact statement and issue one record of decision with the goal completing the permitting process within two years. Under the MOU, coordinating federal agencies will conduct their review processes simultaneously rather than the current sequential process that has resulted in unnecessary and costly delays.

The MOU was signed by the heads of the departments of Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy and Homeland Security as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

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Prices for inputs to construction materials expanded 0.8 percent in March and are 5.8 percent higher than at the same time one year ago, according to an ABC analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Prices for nonresidential construction inputs increased 0.9 percent on a monthly basis and are up 5.6 percent year over year.

The upward pressure on construction materials prices was masked to a certain extent by natural gas.  Natural gas prices fell 32.1 percent in March—after rising 23.5 percent in February—and are down nearly 13 percent on an annual basis. In stark contrast, crude petroleum prices expanded 5 percent in March and are up 34 percent year over year. Predictably, steel prices rose in March, but larger increases are forthcoming as the price of steel to be delivered is increasingly subject to the renegotiation of expiring contracts.

“Construction backlog and other data indicate that leaders at the typical nonresidential construction firm expect their company to be busy in 2018, but that meaningfully expanding profit margins may prove challenging,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “A combination of economic momentum and dueling tariffs has served to accelerate construction input price growth in categories that have been featured in recent trade disputes, such as steel/iron and softwood lumber.

“Ongoing increases in employee compensation strongly suggest that the cost of delivering construction services is set to rise substantially in 2018,” said Basu. “So far, there is little evidence to suggest that purchasers of construction services have been significantly discouraged by rising prices in the context of an improving economy. However, construction spending growth continues to be only moderate, and further cost increases may induce more developers and other purchasers to postpone projects. Growing uncertainty regarding the availability of domestic steel and other inputs during the latter stages of 2018 also may have a chilling effect on some project starts.

“The hope is that uncertainty emerging from the policymaking environment will quickly abate,” said Basu. “Many agree that there are opportunities for the United States to improve its access to foreign markets, but also that the eruption of full-blown trade wars could bring the current economic expansion to a halt. That would not be good for contractors in terms of demand for their services.  It also likely would translate into additional significant increases in overall materials costs as tariffs take hold, which presumably would further dampen profit margin growth.”

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