Are plumbing apprentice graduates safer than their non-apprentice peers? Workers’ compensation claims among journey level plumbers by apprenticeship participation

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Journal of Safety Research
Volume 83, December 2022, Pages 349-356

Abstract
Introduction: Apprenticeships combine mentored on-the-job training with related instruction to develop a workforce with the skills sought by employers. Workplace safety is an important component of apprenticeship training. Whether that training results in fewer work injuries, however, is largely unknown. Method: We linked Washington’s registered apprenticeship data, plumber certification (licensing) data, employment data, and workers’ compensation claims to compare claim rates among journey level plumbers (JLP) by apprenticeship participation. We used negative binomial regression models to estimate rates of total claims, wage replacement/disability claims, acute injuries, and musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), adjusted for worker characteristics. Results: Among JLP certified between 2000 and 2018, rates among JLP with no apprenticeship training were 46% higher for total workers’ compensation claims (adjusted Rate Ratio (aRR) = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.26–1.69) and 60% higher for wage replacement/disability claims (aRR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.22–2.11), compared to rates among JLP who completed a plumbing apprenticeship. Apprentice graduates experienced a greater decline in the rate of total claims between the 5 years preceding JLP certification and the years after certification (55.3% vs. 41.4% among JLP with no apprenticeship training). Greater rate reductions among JLP apprentice graduates were also observed for acute injuries and MSD, although the decline in MSD was not significantly different from the decline among JLP with no apprenticeship training. Conclusions: Successful completion of a plumbing apprenticeship program is associated with fewer work injuries throughout the career of a JLP. Apprenticeships appear to play a key role in reducing work injuries among JLP, especially acute injuries. Practical Applications: Apprenticeships are an effective model for reducing workplace injuries. The mechanisms by which apprenticeship training improves workplace safety should be identified to better inform injury prevention efforts among apprentices as well as among workers outside of a formal apprenticeship arrangement.

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State study: Apprenticeship training connected with safer workplaces

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MLT News | Posted: January 14, 2023

Apprenticeship programs result in safer workers. That’s the conclusion of a first-of-its-kind study by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). As apprenticeship programs continue to grow, they could reduce serious worker injuries and workers’ compensation claims.

“Apprentices are safer because they’re learning all the proper techniques,” said Peter Guzman, manager of L&I’s Apprenticeship Program. “Now the science backs us up.”

…

The results of the study come at a time of expansion for registered apprenticeship programs in Washington. There is record involvement, with 22,000 workers currently participating in apprenticeships across about 200 registered programs in the state. While construction trades such as carpenter, ironworker and electrician have the most active participants, there are growing programs in the technology, aerospace and medical assistant fields.

The study, by L&I’s Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program, linked registered apprenticeship data with plumber certification information. Then, it compared worker compensation claims between 2000-2018. The work underwent a rigorous peer review and publication last fall in the Journal of Safety Research.

The findings show workers’ compensation claim rates were 31% lower among journey-level plumbers with apprenticeship training compared to plumbers who did not complete an apprenticeship.

“This study provides support for what many believe: There are fewer injuries among apprentices,” said Dr. Dave Bonauto, SHARP manager.

SHARP epidemiologist Dr. Sara Wuellner, a 13-year agency veteran, led the study.

“While the study focused on plumbers, it indicates apprenticeships not only provide well-trained workers, they also contribute to a safer workplace,” she said. “Other studies could look at specific parts of apprenticeship and show how that occurs.”

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DOL and IRS Unite to Battle Misclassifying Workers

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Jan. 12, 2023 | David Sparkman

Agreement follows similar arrangements between other federal agencies.

In mid-December 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for employment tax referrals that arise from investigations of workers’ possible employment misclassifications.

This agreement follows a pattern of similar partnerships entered into by other federal agencies during the Biden Administration that also have been crafted specifically to deal with the classification issue.

“We are determined to identify and resolve labor violations by employers who benefit by misclassifying employees as independent contractors and deprive them of the protections of the labor standards laws we enforce,” said Jessica Looman, principal deputy wage and hour administrator.

In 2011, DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and the IRS first entered into a similar MOU to allow both agencies to use their resources to promote employer compliance with obligations to pay employee’ and related employment taxes.

The new MOU explains that the two agencies will establish a methodology for exchanging investigative leads, complaints and referrals of possible violations “to the extent allowable by law and policy.” However, the agencies assert that the terms of the MOU do not provide for any exchange of federal tax information.

The memo explains that the collaboration will enable both agencies to leverage existing resources and promote employer compliance with obligations to properly pay their employees and to pay all applicable employment taxes.

Although concerns over misclassification have been around for decades, the primary target has most often centered around independent contractors, such as trucking owner-operators. Concerns at the state level have included the failure of contractors to pay for workers’ compensation insurance and unemployment taxes. The focus has been expanded in recent years to include all sorts of freelancers and gig workers, such as computer programmers, and also has been a long-term issue for the nation’s labor unions who are prohibited by law from organizing independent contractors.

A new set of criteria that eliminates most of those workers who previously were able to legally claim independent contractor status was enacted in a California law and is being emulated by other states. The California approach also is contained in legislation that was introduced by Democrats in Congress as soon as President Biden was sworn in but has yet to make much headway.

Before the DOL-IRS announcement took place, the most recent similar agreement between federal agencies was forged between the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding gig workers. That MOU is aimed at addressing a number of other labor law issues in addition to workers’ misclassification, such as noncompete and nondisclosure provisions that may be included in worker contracts.

The new DOL-IRS agreement states that the “collaboration will enable both agencies to leverage existing resources and promote employer compliance with obligations to properly pay employees and to pay employment taxes. This multi-agency approach presents a united compliance front to employers and their representatives.”

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Federal Court Upholds Federal Contractor Minimum Wage Increase

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JD Supra – Jan. 18, 2023

On Jan. 6, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona upheld President Joe Biden’s authority to issue an Executive Order (EO) increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors and subcontractors to $15 per hour.

As McGuireWoods previously reported, on April 27, 2021, President Biden signed an (EO) requiring federal contractors performing service, construction or concession contracts to pay a $15 minimum hourly wage to employees working on such contracts. Subsequently, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Final Rule implementing the EO.

The EO invited litigation, and on Jan. 6, 2023, an Arizona federal court ruled in favor of the Biden Administration, dismissing a challenge brought by attorneys general for Arizona and four other states. The states argued that the EO and Final Rule violated the Federal Property and Administrative Service Act (FPASA), the Administrative Procedures Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution, among other things. In response, the federal government argued the EO and Final Rule were “unremarkable,” noting that the past three presidents had altered the minimum wage for federal contractors pursuant to the FPASA.

The court found the wage increase had a sufficiently close nexus to the FPASA’s purposes of promoting economy and efficiency in federal contracting. In so holding, the court credited the President’s rational determination that improvements to productivity and quality of work from a wage increase would outweigh any cost increases in federal procurement.

The court further found the application of the wage increase to subcontractors was valid, and noted their inclusion was necessary to close potential loopholes.

The administration continues to defend the wage increase in other venues, including in a similar suit in Texas, and a narrower challenge in Colorado to its application to recreational contractors on public lands. In the Colorado case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit preliminarily blocked the hike on recreational contractors pending substantive review. However, the wage increase otherwise has gone into effect for government contractors and subcontractors, so any bids for government contracts should take it into account.

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NABTU Workforce Development Programs are Increasing Diversity in the Construction Industry

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NABTU | Washington, D.C. — January 17, 2023 — Today, at its first Opportunity Pipeline Forum, North America’s Building Trades Unions released a new report from the Institute for Construction Economics Research (ICERES) entitled, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in the Construction Trades” which examines workforce development and diversity, equity and inclusion in the construction industry, including the unique programmatic success of building trade programs and their results.

The study evaluates initiatives in the construction industry to promote greater workforce diversity, including recruitment, pre-apprenticeship, mentoring, retention, and apprenticeship training programs and looks at the success rates between union and non-union programs. The report finds that union programs are far more effective than non-union programs at recruiting and training more women and racially diverse groups into the construction industry.

“Improving diversity and making the skilled trades a more equitable and inclusive work environment is a challenge that requires conscious efforts and initiatives that track outcomes, which improve access to these jobs and provide support for workers from historically underrepresented groups,” said Dr. Amy Tracy Wells, one of the ICERES study authors and Lecturer at Rutgers University. “This study attempts to facilitate the strengthening of the DEI initiatives in all parts of the construction sector by providing perspectives on the current state of these programs in the construction industry—highlighting some of the best and most innovative practices—and offering insight on recent trends in the traditional pipeline to the skilled trades: registered apprenticeship training programs.”

“This is the first study of its kind and gives our entire industry a benchmark in which we are all held to the same standard on DEI and workforce development programs,” said NABTU President McGarvey. “The ICERES study demonstrates building trades unions’ programs are successful because of deliberate, intentional work and critical partnerships with community-based organizations, industry leaders, and government agencies. The findings underscore that investing programmatically throughout the workforce development pipeline and utilizing true workforce development tools like PLAs and collective bargaining work. With massive federal investments from the IRA, CHIPS, and Infrastructure Bill needing more on-ramps to Registered Apprenticeships, we look forward to organizations like TradesFutures helping us advance these successful DEI programs, maximize investments and meet the moment to provide more meaningful middle-class career pathways for diverse communities across America.”

Read the ICERES Study: “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives in the Construction Trades” by Cihan Bilginsoy, University of Utah; David Bullock, University of Michigan; Amy Tracy Wells, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Roland Zullo, University of Michigan; and editors: Julie Brockman, Michigan State University and Russell Ormiston, Allegheny College.

For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Betsy Barrett at bbarrett@nabtu.org or 202-997-3266.

The Skilled Labor Battle: Trade School Vs. College

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Jan. 10, 2023 | Kelly L. Faloon

When it comes to preparing for their work future, today’s young people have some difficult decisions ahead of them: what they want to do in their work life, where to obtain the knowledge and training, how to pay for their education, and what the job prospects will be when they complete their schooling.

For anyone desiring a college degree, the price can be daunting in any field.

“The cognitive competencies that are in high demand in the workforce are generally associated with higher levels of education,” notes a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW). “Today, two out of three jobs require postsecondary education and training, while three out of four jobs in the 1970s required a high school diploma or less. Yet while young people today need more education than ever to compete in the labor market, a college education is more expensive than in the past.”

The 2021 report, “If Not Now, When? The Urgent Need for an All-One-System Approach to Youth Policy,” illustrates that between 1980 and 2020, college costs rose 169%. …

The Skilled Labor Dilemma

So how can young people obtain a secondary education that will provide them with a good standard of living but not cripple them in debt?

Whether you call it trade school, vocational school or career and technical education (CTE), these learning institutions can teach young people the skills and training they need to enter a career with financial stability, such as plumbing, HVACR or electrical. These jobs are fairly recession-proof and cannot be outsourced overseas.

The market size of U.S. trade and technical schools is $15.1 billion in 2022, notes an IBIS World market report. And a Bloomberg article notes that more young people are entering apprenticeship programs in many industries.

“U.S. companies are increasingly tapping high school students for skilled jobs,” the August 2022 article notes. “As a result, apprenticeships are seeing a renaissance after failing to gain a foothold over the past few decades. About 214,000 people aged 16 to 24 were in apprenticeships in 2022, more than double the amount a decade ago, according to July data from the U.S. Department of Labor.”

Bloomberg adds that it’s “part of a national rethink by employers scrambling to fill about 10.7 million vacancies by developing their own talent pipelines.”

Regarding trade careers in construction, plumbing and HVACR are some of the highest-paying trades today. Candidates can obtain a two-year associate’s degree or certification, but many go directly into four- or five-year apprenticeship programs.

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Agencies Directed to Designate Labor Advisors for Federal Contract Labor

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January 13, 2023

This week, the Department of Labor (DOL) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo directing all agencies to designate “agency labor advisers” who are responsible for advising agencies on “Federal contract labor matters.” FAR Part 22 contemplates the appointment of “agency labor advisors,” and requires contractors to contact them about potential labor disputes or questions; however, DOL and OMB found not all agencies have such a role.

DOL and OMB also announced the creation of the Contract Labor Advisor Group (CLAG), an interagency working group comprised of labor advisors and acquisition professionals that will “promote better understanding and implementation of contract labor laws and improved communication across agencies in support of a strengthened Federal contracting base.”

While neither the DOL/OMB memo nor FAR Part 22 defines “Federal contract labor matters,” DOL and OMB’s stated intent behind designating labor advisors and creating the CLAG is to address and prevent labor violations through greater communication between the government and its contractors about federal contract labor matters, including emerging issues like the federal contractor minimum wage, non-displacement of service contract workers, and the expansion of project labor agreements. Labor advisors and the CLAG will also develop training for the federal workforce and contractors on labor law issues. The CLAG’s role will also include promoting “labor peace,” in part by promoting pre-contract agreements between an offeror and any labor organization seeking to organize the offeror’s employees to assure the uninterrupted delivery of services during contract performance.

Agencies must designate their labor advisors by February 15, 2023. We will continue to monitor these developments.

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Rolling back laws that set minimum wages for construction workers meant pay shrunk, jobs got more dangerous, and workers had to rely more on public assistance

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BUSINESS INSIDER | Juliana Kaplan – Jan 16, 2023

  • A new study looks at the impact of rolling back prevailing wage laws on wages and workers.
  • Prevailing wage laws set pay standards for government contract workers, particularly construction workers.
  • Rolling back the laws led to lower wage growth, and increased worker fatalities.

It turns out that getting rid of some minimum wage controls left workers earning less, being less productive, relying more on public assistance, and even facing a higher risk of dying on the job.

That’s according to a new study from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and Project for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Researchers Frank Manzo, Robert Bruno, and Larissa Petrucci examine the impact of repealing prevailing wage laws — laws that essentially set minimum wages for construction workers on government contracts.

With the bipartisan infrastructure bill pouring billions of dollars into construction projects across the nation, the findings show that contractors in states that have repealed prevailing wage laws may face problems staffing up. Historically, prevailing wage laws have helped plug labor shortages, and contractors could have trouble competing with higher-paying competitors across the country.

Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Michigan all repealed their prevailing wage laws between 2015 and 2018. Using data from the US Census Bureau and Department of Labor, the researchers looked at how construction workers fared as those laws were rolled back.

Those states saw their wages for construction workers drop. In Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky — the three states that fully repealed prevailing wage laws — average construction hourly wages were $23.94 before the laws were rolled back. By 2017, the average hourly wage was $23.77. Meanwhile, states with the laws in place saw wages grow by 12.2% in the same period.

“What prevailing wage does, it kind of standardizes and stabilizes the industry of a local market,” Petrucci said. “When you repeal that, what you have is contractors who are able to undercut wages and pay workers far below the training that they have developed to get these kinds of jobs. Naturally, you’re gonna see wages decrease.”

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Reading City Council adopts responsible contractor ordinance (PA)

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By MICHELLE LYNCH | Reading Eagle
PUBLISHED: December 20, 2022

Contractors must now meet specific qualifications in order to work on public construction and maintenance projects in the city.

Reading City Council voted 6-1 Monday to adopt a responsible contractor ordinance setting forth certification requirements for contractors bidding on projects over $250,000.

Councilman O. Christopher Miller voted no.

The new law requires contractors to maintain the capacity, expertise, personnel and other resources necessary to successfully complete public projects in a timely, reliable and cost-effective manner.

It also requires contractors to pay their workers prevailing wages and offer state-approved apprenticeship programs. …

“This bill will require a responsible bidder seeking award of a contract to now submit a contractor’s responsibility certification,” he said. “This is exactly what we already do.”

Although some critics have said the legislation is pro-union, William Dorward, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Reading and Vicinity, disagreed.

“This is not non-union against union; union against non-union,” he said. “It’s about good actors and bad actors.”

Dorward also said the ordinance helps secure training for the upcoming generation of skilled trades workers.

“It’s about keeping those skill sets to the peak level of education,” he said.

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