On May 21, 黑料不打烊 submitted comments to the U. S. Department of Labor鈥檚 (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) updating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations. In line with 黑料不打烊鈥檚 recommendations to the WHD, this NPRM is the second step the DOL is undertaking to revisit the Obama administration overtime rule that dramatically increased the salary threshold for exempt employees and would have resulted in unintended consequences, particularly for small construction companies construction employers in lower-wage regions, and construction personnel. In contrast to the Obama rule, this new proposal would simply update the salary threshold using current wage data, projected to January 1, 2020. The result would boost the standard salary threshold for exempt employees from $455 to $679 per week (equivalent to $35,308 per year).
Advises Caution in Selection and Execution of New Compliance Checks
On June 12, 黑料不打烊 submitted comments to the U. S. Department of Labor鈥檚 (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) updating the regulations governing regular rate requirements for the first time in more than 50 years. Regular rate requirements define what forms of payment employers include and exclude in the "time and one-half" calculation when determining workers' overtime rates. The NPRM focused primarily on clarifying whether certain kinds of perks, benefits, or other miscellaneous items must be included in the regular rate. Because these regulations have not been updated in decades, the proposal鈥檚 intent is to better define the regular rate for today's workplace practices.
Expands Employer and Employee Insurance Options
The 黑料不打烊 Labor and Employment Law Council (LELC) recently held its 35th Annual Construction Labor Law Symposium in Washington, DC. Attorneys and labor relations managers from across the country gathered to learn about labor and employment law developments relevant to construction employers.
Union contractors, labor representatives, and construction owner-clients alike project strong, stable growth in 2019, report The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) and the Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) in their recently released fifth annual Union Craft Labor Supply Study. At the same time, survey respondents report growing craft labor shortages. The report shows that craft labor shortages in the union construction and maintenance industries are prevalent 鈥 reported in 69 percent of organizations 鈥 but are generally small, with 54 percent of respondents estimating a 12.5 percent shortage of craft workers. About a third of respondents reported no shortage or a surplus of workers.
The Social Security Administration recently resurrected its practice of issuing Employer Correction Request notices 鈥 also known as 鈥渘o-match letters鈥 鈥 when it receives employee information from an employer that does not match its records. When receiving such a letter, 黑料不打烊 members should consider the taking following seven steps in conjunction with consulting with their employment counsel.
On May 6th, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin K. McAleenan announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) will make an additional 30,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for Fiscal Year 2019. These supplemental H-2B visas are available only to returning workers who received an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years (FY 2016, 2017, or 2018), and availability is restricted by prioritizing only those businesses who would suffer irreparable harm without the additional workers. Final details on the increase in H-2B Nonimmigrant Visas for FY 2019 can now be found here.
Calendar Years 2017 and 2018 Data Due Sept. 30
Impacts Many Public and Private Works Construction Contractors