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 The Â鶹´«Ã½ Labor and Employment Law Council - a network of labor lawyers who represent Â鶹´«Ã½ members and chapters - held its 26th Annual Construction Labor Law Symposium on April 16 in Washington, DC.  Attorneys and chapter labor relations managers from across the country attended.

On March 18, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act to encourage employers to hire workers who were previously unemployed for at least 60 days immediately prior to hiring.  Consisting of two parts, a "tax holiday" and an "additional business tax credit," employers may claim these credits beginning on April 1, 2010, with a special catch-up period in the second quarter of 2010 for qualifying first quarter wages paid after March 18.

Since the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the original law that offered a 65 percent premium subsidy to help certain individuals pay for continuing health coverage (also known as COBRA), the eligibility period and qualifications required for individuals to receive the subsidy have been extended several times and will likely be extended again.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council has issued a final rule implementing Executive Order 13502 on the use of project labor agreements  (PLAs) on federal construction projects, giving contracting agencies broad discretion to determine whether to impose a PLA mandate on a project, when the PLA should be executed, and what terms the PLA will contain. 

On Saturday, March 27, the first day of the congressional recess for Easter, President Obama made several recess appointments to federal agencies, including a controversial appointment to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that could have a significant impact on federal labor law. 

Â鶹´«Ã½'s Open Shop Committee held an active roundtable discussion at a meeting during the Annual Convention on March 17.  Contractors and Chapter staff from across the country shared recent experiences regarding labor relations and labor-related government affairs in their respective areas.

It's true that the building trades have heightened influence in Congress and the administration these days, AFL-CIO's Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) President Mark Ayers (left) acknowledged to a standing-room-only audience at a forum presented by Â鶹´«Ã½'s Union Contractors Committee during the Annual Convention, and they're using that influence to encourage the enactment of policies that address one central goal:  "to provide a significant jump-start to the U.S. construction economy."  While these policies have been "mischaracterized as "special interest giveaways," Ayers stated, the true objective is "getting our members and our signatory contractors back to work." 

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) and shortly thereafter the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872), which changes health care as we know it.  In the coming years there are many adjustments that construction companies need to be aware of in order to comply with the new law.

Â鶹´«Ã½ general and specialty contractor members can now subscribe to a new interactive Web-based compensation reporting product from FMI called Compensation Interactive.  The new offering provides Â鶹´«Ã½ member companies the ability to create real-time, customized reports for key professional positions in 21 separate job categories including business development, contract administration, project administration, project management, project superintendent, safety engineer and estimating engineer.

Collective bargaining negotiations completed during 2009 in the nonresidential construction industry resulted in the lowest average first-year increase in wages and fringe benefits since 1996, according to the year-end settlements report issued by the Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC).  CLRC reports that the average first-year increase negotiated last year was $1.23 or 2.8 percent, as compared to $1.95 or 4.6 percent in 2008 - the highest percentage increase since 1999.  The average second-year increase negotiated for multi-year agreements was $1.55 or 3.2 percent in 2009, and $2.25 or 4.7 percent in 2008.