Workforce Development’s Role in Building the Infrastructure Labor Force

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Feb. 25, 2022
Marina Zhavoronkova, Center for American Progress

Construction and other industries supported by the new federal infrastructure law face labor shortages. Workforce development systems can help narrow that gap by supporting efforts to bring in women and workers of color.

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is injecting $1.2 trillion toward repairing America’s crumbling transportation system, ensuring access to clean water, connecting people to high-speed broadband and more. But as infrastructure funding starts to trickle down to cities and states, it will take a skilled and diverse workforce to ensure that the law’s extraordinary potential becomes a reality.

The government-funded workforce development system, authorized by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), is a network of federal, state and local organizations and agencies that connect employers and job-seekers to education and training opportunities and to each other. The system must leverage its expertise and positioning to support the talent and diversity demands of the infrastructure law. Industries supported by the legislation, such as construction, are facing significant labor shortages. They also have historically excluded segments of the labor market such as women and communities of color, groups that recent jobs data show are still bearing the brunt of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The majority of the construction jobs funded by the IIJA will be subject to Davis-Bacon Act protections, which will ensure that workers are paid a prevailing wage and have access to workplace protections. While workforce development is not the sole solution to systemic inequities in the labor market, it has the potential to create an ecosystem in which those problems are not perpetuated and, in doing so, connect job-seekers to good jobs — those that pay well and provide benefits — and help employers meet their labor needs.

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Allentown passes ‘responsible contractor ordinance’

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Steve Althouse | Feb 16, 2022
Updated Feb 24, 2022

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Allentown City Council approved an ordinance requiring contractors meet additional requirements to work on city projects Wednesday night. The vote was 4-3.

The ordinance requires, among other things, firms to provide proof that subcontractors participate in a class A apprenticeship program in their respective field.

Approval was granted after a debate by councilmembers, along with contractors and construction company owners, during the public comment session of Wednesday’s well-attended meeting. …

The responsible contractor ordinance stipulates that a contractor attempting to secure city building contracts greater than $100,000 offer class A apprenticeship programs. The program must conform to U.S. Department of Labor standards.

In addition, contractors “must make every effort to employ persons residing within the Lehigh Valley,” and in no event shall less than 80% of the labor force working on the project be Lehigh Valley residents on any project worth more than $25,000.

A contractor must also pay all craft employees the current wage rate and fringe benefits required by federal, state and local governments.

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Department of Labor plans increase in wage-and-hour team

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

By: Mass. Lawyers Weekly Staff
February 22, 2022

The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking to hire 100 investigators in its Wage and Hour Division to step up its enforcement efforts, including the protection of workers’ wages, migrant and seasonal workers, rights to family and medical leave, and prevailing wage requirements for workers on federal contracts.

Investigators’ responsibilities include:

  • Conducting investigations to determine if employers are paying workers and affording them their rights under federal law.
  • Helping ensure that employers who are following the law are not undercut by employers who violate the law.
  • Promoting compliance through outreach and public education initiatives.
  • Supporting efforts to combat worker retaliation and worker misclassification as independent contractors.

“Adding 100 investigators to our team is an important step in the right direction,” said Acting Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman. “We anticipate significantly more hiring activity later in fiscal year 2022. While appropriations will determine our course of action, we are optimistic we will be able to bring new talented professionals onboard to expand our diverse team.”

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division collected $230 million in wages owed to 190,000 workers. Division representatives also conducted 4,700 outreach events to educate employers and workers about their workplace rights and responsibilities.

The uptick in hiring is in sync with the Biden administration’s focus on employees’ rights.

The types of violations the Wage and Hour Division looks out for include failure to follow local, state or federal minimum wage laws; failure to pay overtime; tip theft; failure to allow breaks; and failure to allow unpaid, job-protected leave after having a baby or for a medical condition, which the Family and Medical Leave Act mandates.

These violations disproportionately affect essential workers and immigrant workers, according to the DOL. Industries that tend to have more violations include food service, retail and construction.

(See Article)

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San Diego County adopts prevailing wage policy for projects on county land

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

BY DEBORAH SULLIVAN BRENNAN
FEB. 17, 2022 5 AM PT

San Diego — Construction projects on county land must use skilled, trained workers and pay them prevailing wages, the Board of Supervisors decided in a split vote last week. Supervisors Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson, the two Republicans on the board, opposed the measure, while Democratic Supervisors Nathan Fletcher, Terra Lawson-Remer and Nora Vargas voted in favor.

Prevailing wages are set by the state to establish pay and benefits for public works projects based on compensation rates for similar work in the same area. The federal government and the state of California set prevailing wages on public projects under their jurisdiction, as do some local governments including the city of San Diego.

The county’s action, called the Working Families Ordinance, requires contractors for construction projects on county land to use skilled, trained workers and pay prevailing wages on projects over $1 million. It also requires employers on county-leased land to provide paid sick leave and to ensure worker protections against retaliation and discrimination.

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Virtual seminar on Davis-Bacon compliance for projects receiving funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will offer compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers, and other stakeholders to provide information on Davis-Bacon compliance requirements for projects receiving funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by the President on November 15, 2021, creates an historic investment in our nation’s aging infrastructure. Most of the construction projects funded or assisted through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be subject to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage labor standards, and construction workers on these projects must be paid at least the locally prevailing wage and fringe benefits required for the work they perform. This ensures that responsible contractors can compete for federally-funded or assisted construction contracts, and that the workers who will build our communities, ensure our safety, and improve our infrastructure receive fair wages. This seminar provides an overview of how federal funding agencies, funding recipients, and contractors can meet their Davis-Bacon obligations on projects receiving BIL funding subject to the Davis-Bacon labor standards.

Register Now

The training is the latest in the Wage and Hour Division’s ongoing efforts to increase awareness and improve compliance with federal prevailing wage requirements among employers performing work on federally funded construction or services contracts. The webinar will include an overview of the Davis-Bacon compliance requirements followed by a Q&A session. Participants will be able to submit questions in advance or during the webinar. The interactive webinar will be offered on the alternative dates of February 28 and March 1, 2022, and participants may register for either date.

While seminar attendance is free, registration is required. Participants may register at Eventbrite. Additional information, including the links to video trainings and virtual Q&A session dates, will be provided to registrants.

Register Now

For more information on Davis-Bacon compliance with Bilateral Infrastructure Law, the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, and other federal wage laws, please call the Department’s toll-free helpline at 1-866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or visit dol.gov/agencies/whd.

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Lost taxes and salaries: RI unions kick off a campaign to make wage theft a felony

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Patrick Anderson
The Providence Journal
Feb. 16, 2022

In a renewed campaign to make wage theft a felony in Rhode Island, union leaders are pointing to new research that says more than 9% of the state’s employers misclassify workers as independent contractors.

The paper from academics at the University of Massachusetts Labor Center and a construction-industry research group analyzed the results of state labor department unemployment insurance audits of Rhode Island employers from 2016 to last year.

It estimated that that $185 million in workers’ wages and salaries went unreported to the Department of Labor and Training in 2019, and that it cost the state from $25 million to $54 million in lost taxes that year.

‘Restoring worker rights’
The paper’s authors, Russell Ormiston of Allegheny College and Tom Juravich of UMass Amherst, conclude that changes in state labor law “offer considerable promise in restoring worker rights and ensuring greater justice in Rhode Island’s workplaces. The first is to make wage theft a felony.”

That’s music to the ears of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, which has put making wage theft a felony offense at the top of its legislative priorities for this year.

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NEW UMASS AMHERST LABOR CENTER STUDY FINDS NEARLY 10% OF RHODE ISLAND EMPLOYERS MISCLASSIFY WORKERS, COSTING TAXPAYERS TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

February 14, 2022

Working paper co-produced by the Institute for Construction Economic Research finds costs to taxpayers may be as high as $54 million

AMHERST, Mass. – A new study released today by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Labor Center reveals that nearly 1-in-10 Rhode Island employers misclassified employees as independent contractors between 2016 and 2021, affecting an estimated 19,359 workers in the state in 2019 and costing taxpayers at least $25.1 million. Illegal misclassification allows firms to evade taxes while denying workers their legal rights to, among other things, unemployment insurance benefits, workers’ compensation insurance and overtime pay.

The study, which was co-produced by the Institute for Construction Economics Research (ICERES) and conducted by Tom Juravich, professor of labor studies and sociology at UMass Amherst, and Russell Ormiston, associate professor of business and economics at Allegheny College and president of the ICERES, relied on extensive data provided by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

“This research builds on the work we did in Massachusetts and shows that rampant worker misclassification and employer tax fraud is a problem across New England,” says Juravich.

Worker misclassification occurs in every industry of the Rhode Island economy, but is especially rampant among residential construction, janitorial services, landscapers and certain types of construction contractors, such as painting and finish carpentry.

“The illegal misclassification of workers as independent contractors in residential construction has created a hothouse for wage theft,” Juravich says.

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(PDF Copy of Study)

Concrete contractor backpay order approaches $1 million

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

February 11, 2022
Concrete News

A judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York orders Macedo Construction Inc., Macedo Contracting Services Inc., Odecam Concrete Supply Corp. and Manuel Macedo. to pay 99 workers a total of $987,591 in back wages and liquidated damages, plus $53,249 in civil penalties to the Department of Labor (DOL).

The action settles charges of willful Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) violations identified in a DOL Wage and Hour Division investigation. It found Manuel Macedo and his Bellport, N.Y. companies failed to combine the hours laborers worked at the three commonly owned businesses, and paid them with multiple checks to evade overtime requirements. Each separate check showed the employees logged less than 40 hours per workweek when they actually worked a combined total of up to 48 hours per week. The companies also neglected to pay employees for time spent traveling from work yards to jobsites, and retain accurate records of the employees’ work hours and pay rates.

“The scheme by Macedo Construction, Macedo Contracting Services, Odecam Concrete Supply Corp. and Manuel Macedo deprived their employees of nearly $491,000 in hard-earned wages over three years,” says WHD District Director David An. “In addition to the back wages, the employer must pay these workers an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus interest. We encourage other employers to consider this investigation’s outcome, review their own pay practices and contact the Wage and Hour Division to avoid similar violations. The consequences of noncompliance with federal labor laws can be serious and expensive.”

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Acting AG Bruck: New Jersey Supports Adoption of Stronger Federal Protections against Worker Misclassification

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

For Immediate Release: February 10, 2022
Office of The Attorney General
Andrew J. Bruck, Acting Attorney General

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck announced today that New Jersey is co-leading a multistate effort to support the adoption by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) of stronger protections for workers whose employers would misclassify them as independent contractors — a designation that can deprive workers of wages earned, core workplace benefits and the ability to organize.

In an amicus brief filed with the NLRB today, New Jersey urges the Board to adopt a more worker-protective standard for determining whether a worker is an employee protected by federal labor laws safeguarding the right to organize and collectively bargain, or, in the alternative, an independent contractor not covered by such legal protections.

Acting Attorney General Bruck is co-leading today’s multi-state amicus brief to the NLRB along with Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. A total of 14 other Attorneys General have signed onto the brief, which describes misclassification as a burgeoning problem that harms both workers and states, and asserts that “this is not the time to weaken protections” against the employer tactic.

“Here in New Jersey, we care about workers’ rights,” said Acting Attorney General Bruck. “Workers who are misclassified as independent contractors end up suffering a whole host of disadvantages – including substandard wages, denial of workplace safety protections, denial of employment benefits they rightfully deserve and, crucially, the right to fight for improved working conditions by organizing and collectively bargaining.”

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Project labor agreements on federal construction projects will benefit nearly 200,000 workers

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Posted February 9, 2022 at 11:07 am by Ihna Mangundayao, Celine McNicholas, and Margaret Poydock

President Biden recently signed an executive order (EO) requiring project labor agreements on federal construction projects over $35 million, a move that is expected to affect $262 billion in federal construction contracting and improve job quality for nearly 200,000 workers.

Project labor agreements (PLAs) are used primarily in the construction industry to establish the terms of employment for all workers on a project. Generally, PLAs specify workers’ wages and fringe benefits and may include provisions requiring contractors to hire workers through union hiring halls, otherwise establish a unionized workforce, or develop procedures for resolving employment disputes. PLAs often include language that prevents workers from striking during the project while also preventing employers from locking workers out.

PLAs are effective mechanisms for controlling construction costs, ensuring efficient completion of projects, and establishing fair wages and benefits for all workers. PLAs also help ensure worker health and safety protections while providing a unique opportunity for workforce development. These agreements can be written to engage local populations, provide jobs for underrepresented groups, and develop experience for apprentices.

Project labor agreements don’t raise construction costs

Evidence shows that PLAs do not increase construction costs. For example, New York City embarked on a $5.3 billion project in 2009, and the use of four PLAs was estimated to lead to 1,800 new jobs while saving the city approximately $300 million. A study from the Berkeley Labor Center also found that projects with PLAs attracted a “similar number of bidders” and “came in at a slightly lower price” when compared to projects without PLAs in place. Another 2015 paper from University of Utah economists compared nine PLA affordable housing projects with 121 affordable housing projects built without PLAs and found that the PLA projects were not more expensive to build.

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(White House Briefing)