A study by East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group (AEG) found that Michigan’s prevailing wage law is costing taxpayers and draining millions of dollars per year from the state’s public universities, community colleges and school districts by driving up the costs of construction projects. The study found the prevailing wage requirement increases construction costs by approximately $224 million annually. Additionally, the study found that with no additional taxpayer funding, more than 315 additionally elementary buildings could have been built in the previous decade with the money lost because of the state’s prevailing wage requirement.
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The study found the New York system of using collective bargaining agreements to establish wage rates is likely invalid given that union membership is presently lower than 30 percent in most localities. In fact, unions now represent only 24 percent of the state's construction workforce, yet New York still relies on union collective bargaining agreements when establishing prevailing wage rates. Near the turn of the last century, New York established wage standards to ensure construction workers were receiving a normal, or "prevailing," private-sector wage and benefits on public construction work.
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An April 6, 2011 report published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), titled, "Davis-Bacon Act: Methodological Changes Needed to Improve Wage Survey," highlighted serious flaws in how wages are determined under the Davis-Bacon Act, and recommended steps for the Department of Labor (DOL) to take to remedy some of the issues. GAO examined how DOL has addressed previous concerns from stakeholders, and also looked at new issues that need to be resolved.
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| Date: |
Thursday, January 19, 2017
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Watch Now |
| Time: |
11:00 a.m. (ET) / 10:00 a.m. (CT) / 9:00 a.m. (MT) / 8:00 a.m. (PT)
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| Length: |
30 minutes |
| Fee: |
Free |
| Speaker: |
John Wiegand, BIM360 Integration Consultant, Autodesk
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| Category: |
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PRESENTED BY ABC's STRATEGIC PARTNER - AUTODESK
WEBINAR DESCRIPTION
Understand the myths and truths of lean construction by attending this informative webcast. See how your firm can successfully commit to and implement lean practices for improved project performance.
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A study published in the Cato Journal, Vol. 30, No.1, concludes the purpose of prevailing wage laws are to limit competition and provide significant benefits to labor unions. These policies come at the expense of taxpayers that are forced to pay more than otherwise necessary for projects that require prevailing wage mandates. George Leef, Director of Research at the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, concludes that no societal benefits result from union favoritism.
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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) expanded federal Davis-Bacon requirements to 40 additional federal programs, according to a Feb. 2010 study conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Although the impacts of these requirements vary among agencies (primarily because many are not directly involved in construction activities), several--including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)* –report that Davis-Bacon has had a negative impact on ARRA-related program administration and goals.
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The Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia on Feb. 16, 2009, released a study that concludes West Virginia's average state prevailing wage rate is at least 49 percent, and as high as 74 percent (using adjusted figures), above West Virginia's true market prevailing wage in the construction industry. The study also found that as many as 1,500 more jobs could be created if West Virginia's prevailing wage law were repealed or reformed to reflect actual market wages.
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In a March 2000 report, the General Accountability Office (GAO) estimates the federal government could save more than $4 billion in discretionary spending outlays over a five year period by repealing the Davis-Bacon Act.
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The Beacon Hill Institute (BHI) at Suffolk University in Boston, Mass., found that wages on federally funded construction projects under the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) are grossly inflated. The February 2008 study compared the methods used by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the DOL’s Employment Standards Administration’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to determine the prevailing wage for workers employed on federally funded construction projects.
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A study conducted by the Minnesota Taxpayers Association (MTA) found the state's method for calculating prevailing wage rates on public construction increased project costs between 7 percent and 10 percent. Minnesota and California use a “modal” calculation, in which the rate that is most frequently reported in a survey is designated as the “prevailing” wage.
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A study by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy estimates that Michigan's prevailing wage law, which requires union wages to be paid on state construction projects, costs state taxpayers about $250 million per year. The main effect of this extra cost is to boost the wages of construction workers, most of whom earn compensation well above the average for Michigan residents, according to the study. Michigan's prevailing wage law also appears to decrease the number of construction jobs in the state.
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| Date: |
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
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Watch Now |
| Time: |
2:00 p.m. (ET) / 1:00 p.m. (CT) / 12:00 p.m. (MT) / 11:00 a.m. (PT)
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| Length: |
60 minutes |
| Fee: |
Free |
| Speaker: |
Mikael Reckley, Field Marketing Manager, Procore
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| Category: |
Training and Education |
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PRESENTED BY ABC's NATIONAL EVENT SPONSOR - PROCORE
WEBINAR DESCRIPTION
Will your company be able to stay in the game for the long haul? As any tech savvy company will tell you, if you are not an early adopter, you are already behind. Whether it is winning more bids, attracting or retaining new talent, or leveraging tech to enhance business processes, staying ahead of the competition now requires extreme mobility - in your processes and your apps.
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An August 2003 study from the California Institute for County Government at California State University, Sacramento shows that federal commercial prevailing wage rates and state prevailing wage rates in California are on average 36 percent to 55 percent higher than market wages.
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A working paper released in September 2003 by the Program on Housing and
Urban Policy at the University of California, Berkeley presents new evidence on
the increased costs of prevailing wage laws on construction. The paper
estimates that new prevailing wage requirements signed into law by eventually-recalled
Governor Gray Davis in 2001 increased costs on state-subsidized low-income
housing in California between 9 percent and 32 percent under the most credible
statistical models.
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The Legislative Bureau of the Ohio Legislature determined that rescinding prevailing wage requirements for school construction saved $487.9 million in aggregate school construction during the post-examination period, an overall savings of 10.7 percent. This study provides background information and evaluates the amount of money saved by school districts and education service centers due to the exemption, the impact of the exemption on the quality of school building construction, the impact of the exemption on the ways of construction of public school buildings, and summarizes the findings and discusses the limitations.
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In May of 2001 the Program Review and Investigations Committee authorized a study of Kentucky's prevailing wage law. The committee staff suggested changes to the prevailing wage laws so they would more accurately reflect local wages.
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On Dec. 1, OSHA issued Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs in Construction a document meant to help small and medium contractors who may not have safety and health specialists on staff to create proactive programs to keep their workplace safe. The recommendations do not change any existing obligations from OSHA standards or create new legal obligations, rather is meant only as advisory.
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On Nov. 18, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the Walking-Working Surfaces and Personal Protective Equipment (Fall Protection Systems) final rule. This is an update for general industry and does not change the construction standard. This update could impact maintenance activities being completed on a facility. OSHA indicated that under the final rule they have worked to align the general industry standard with the construction standard.
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On Nov. 14, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised I-9 Form. Employers can begin to use the newly revised I-9 Form or continue to use the current version, which is dated 3/8/2013. However, beginning Jan. 22, 2017, all employers must use the revised I-9 Form (edition date 11/14/2016 noted at the bottom of the form) for all new hires to verify their employment eligibility, including U.S. citizens and non-citizens. Employers who fail to use the new form on or after Jan. 22 may be subject to penalties.
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The anti-retaliation provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule (also known as Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses) go into effect Thursday, Dec. 1. The rule, which was finalized on May 12, 2016, will make the submission of the injury and illness forms mandatory and exclusively electronic for most employers. For the first time, OSHA plans to make this information publicly available on the Internet through a new searchable database and use the data for enforcement purposes. Also, some forms of post-accident drug testing and accident-free programs will be deemed to be unlawfully retaliatory.
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On Nov. 22, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) burdensome and costly overtime final rule. The rule would have changed the federal exemptions to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act for administrative, executive and professional employees, the so—called "white collar" worker classifications that have long been exempt from time-and-one-half pay for working more than 40 hours per week. The new rule will not go into effect without further action from the court.
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WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 23 – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) welcomed news that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) burdensome and costly overtime final rule. Prior to the injunction, the rule was scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 1 and would have doubled the current minimum salary threshold for employees that are exempt from overtime pay and automatically increased it every three years.
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WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 16 – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today welcomed news that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has permanently blocked the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) “persuader rule,” officially named the "Interpretation of the ‘Advice’ Exemption in Section 203(c) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act." In finding the rule unlawful, the District Court has maintained employers’ right to obtain advice from labor relations experts.
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| Date: |
Thursday, November 10, 2016
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Watch Now |
| Time: |
11:00 a.m. (ET) / 10:00 a.m. (CT) / 9:00 a.m. (MT) / 8:00 a.m. (PT)
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| Length: |
60 minutes |
| Fee: |
Free |
| Speaker: |
Joel Kopperud, Vice President of Government Affairs, The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers
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Joel Wood, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers
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| Category:
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Compliance, Training and Education, AQC
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PRESENTED BY ABC's STRATEGIC PARTNER - FRINGE BENEFIT GROUP
WEBINAR DESCRIPTION
Joel Kopperud is Vice President of Government Affairs for The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, which is the premier association for commercial insurance and employee benefits intermediaries. This Webinar, presented by ABC Strategic Partner Fringe Benefit Group, will review the proposals and comments the successful candidate has made and forecast key issues such as revisions to the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, Medicare and the tax exclusion for employer sponsored health insurance likely to be presented to Congress.
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On May 23, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule changing the federal exemptions to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act for so-called "white collar" workers, which include administrative, executive, professional and computer professional employees, that have long been exempt from being paid time-and-one-half for working more than 40 hours per week. The rule will essentially double the current minimum annual salary level for exemption from $23,660 to $47,476 per year effective Dec. 1, 2016.
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