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Biden administration investment tracker

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Will Ragland
Ryan Koronowski
June 15, 2023

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—two of which received broad bipartisan support—unleashed an unprecedented level of public and private sector investments in America. These investments are rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, bolstering American manufacturing, and cementing U.S. leadership in critical new industries such as clean energy, electric vehicles, and much more. In total, these investments hold the promise of creating, supporting and reshoring millions of well-paying jobs.

This tool catalogs more than 35,000 of these investments that users can filter by category, state, congressional district, amount, and/or keyword. The tracker is a valuable and growing resource for anyone who wants to learn how these laws are being put to work in their counties, in their states, and across the country.

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Evidence of Worker Exploitation Stops Work at 110 Job Sites

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2023

TRENTON – In the four years since Governor Murphy expanded the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s (NJDOL) powers in 2019 to halt work on job sites when there is strong evidence of worker exploitation, over 110 stop-work orders have been issued and more than $2.7 million in back wages owed to affected workers, liquidated damages, and penalties have been assessed.

In 2021, Governor Murphy further boosted these powers, permitting stop-work orders to be applied to all work sites of an employer found to be in violation of the law.

“Since the beginning of our Administration, we have been dedicated to respecting, defending, and upholding the rights of all New Jersey workers, who are the lifeblood of our economy,” said Governor Murphy. “These expanded powers have led to over a hundred stop-work orders in just the past few years, advancing our commitment to stronger and fairer worker protections.”

“Having the authority to shut down work as soon as wrongdoing is identified has exponentially strengthened the department’s effectiveness at enforcing our state’s wage and hour laws and protecting workers and law-abiding employers,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “We’ve made it clear: If we find you are cheating workers, we will halt your business operations, and in many cases, you will be told to leave the job by the general contractor or contracting authority.”

“A vast majority of New Jersey employers follow the law and do right by their workers, but NJDOL wants to ensure all businesses are following the law and treating workers fairly,” Asaro-Angelo added. “It’s not just about stopping the violations in progress. There is also an educational component to prevent these issues from happening in the first place.”

NJDOL’s Division of Wage and Hour and Contract Compliance has the authority to immediately halt work at any public or private worksite – both construction and non-construction – when an investigation finds evidence an employer has violated state wage, benefit or tax laws. Examples include: misclassifying employees as independent contractors; not having appropriate workers’ compensation insurance; failing to pay prevailing wage or overtime; or paying workers partially, late, or off the books.

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NABTU’s Sean McGarvey shares vision of boosting middle class with new jobs created by the Infrastructure Act

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Sheri Gassaway
July 10, 2023

North American Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey stopped in St. Louis last week to share how the organization is working with local and state building trades leaders, community groups and government officials to help boost the middle-class and create good-paying jobs after passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The event, hosted by the Missouri Works Initiative, Missouri AFL-CIO and St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council, was a part of NABTU’s national multi-city road tour to demonstrate how union-trained workers are prepared to meet the moment. The event was held at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 union hall in St. Louis and included a tour of the union’s state-of-the-art training center.

“There’s over 250,000 people in our training programs and we can ramp that up to one million,” Garvey said. “With the investments made by the Biden-Harris Administration and members of Congress, we’re going to start filling those numbers up and growing these training programs through our apprentice-ready programs like BUD and creating pathways to the middle-class for everyone who wants an opportunity.”

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Denver wage theft unit sees rise in cases, especially in migrant community

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

Karen Morfitt
July 8, 2023

Having worked in the construction industry for several years, Edgar Jauregui has met a lot of people and heard a lot of stories.

“They are willing to walk from their country all the way over here. You can tell they are going to do whatever it takes to change their lives,” he said.

As a representative for the Southwest Mountain States Regional Council of Carpenters, which represents about 55,000 workers, he’s also become an advocate for the immigrant community.

Recently, their concerns have centered largely around wage theft.

“They don’t get paid overtime after 40 hours and some other ones, they just don’t get paid at all. And they keep working because they have a promise that they are going to be paid for the next week,” Jauregui said.

Wage theft is the illegal practice of underpaying or not paying workers or providing benefits laid out in a contract or required by law.

In Denver complaints can be made both to the City Auditor’s Office and the Denver City Attorney’s office, where Brian Snow is an investigator.

“It’s definitely on the increase,” he told CBS News Colorado. “Our migrant population is disproportionately impacted by this,” he said.

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Attorney general Ellison forms task force on worker misclassification

Posted by National Alliance for Fair Contracting on

The Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
July 6, 2023

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that he is forming a new Advisory Task Force on Worker Misclassification. He is soliciting applications to serve on the Task Force through the State of Minnesota Open Appointments process. Applications are being accepted now through August 2, 2023.

“Misclassifying workers hurts not only those who are misclassified and their families, it hurts all Minnesotans, including businesses who do the right thing by their employees by playing by the rules, and every Minnesota taxpayer who has to make up the slack for law breaking employers,” Attorney General Ellison said. “I’ve created this task force to gather the best thinking about the problem and make practical, workable recommendations to the Legislature, State agencies, other levels of government, industry, nonprofit organizations, and advocates about how we can put an end to the problem. It’s another way we can help create a more level playing field and a fairer economy, which helps all Minnesotans better afford their lives and live with dignity, safety, and respect.”

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