The Blog

On Jan. 9, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced the final rule on Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which rescinds the ABC-supported 2021 final rule and replaces it with a confusing multifactor analysis to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The final rule takes effect on March 11, 2024.

The construction industry added 17,000 jobs on net in December, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has grown by 197,000 jobs, an increase of 2.5%.

National nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.1% in November, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau on Jan. 2. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.143 trillion.

On Dec. 14, the Biden administration announced a U.S. Department of Labor proposed rule that would make significant and controversial revisions to the National Apprenticeship System. On Dec. 18, ABC issued a press release in response to the ABC-opposed proposal

On Dec. 22, the Biden administration published the long-awaited Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s final rule, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, implementing President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14063, which requires federal construction contracts of $35 million or more to be subjected to controversial project labor agreements.

U.S. Department of Labor Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker issued a statement regarding the release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of its 2022 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

The construction industry added 2,000 jobs on net in November, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a year-over-year basis, industry employment has increased by 200,000 jobs, an increase of 2.6%.

Associated Builders and Contractors reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator inched up to 8.5 months in November from 8.4 months in October, according to an ABC member survey conducted Nov. 20 to Dec. 4. The reading is down 0.7 months from November 2022.

Though it feels like the year just started a few weeks ago, somehow this will be my final message as ABC MA chair. I’m honored to serve as our Chapter’s first female chair, and to have that honor in the same year that Maura Healey, the first woman elected Governor of Massachusetts, assumed office.

A contractor’s association is balking that a proposed OSHA rule would allow employees to invite union reps onto non-union jobsites, under the pretext of third-part representation during OSHA inspections.