A tough city ordinance in Philadelphia is so strict against employers who commit wage theft, that some have criticized it as “draconian.” Others have applauded the city’s aggressive stance.
The Construction Citizen team is interested to see what long-term effect the recent vote by the Brits to leave the European Union will have on the building industry in the U.K. So far, there is no doubt things will be worse at least in the short term.Via Bloomberg News:Building output fell 2.1 percent in May, almost double the decline forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. There were falls in almost every category of work, with private housing down the most in more than a year.
July 20, 2016
Nearly $1 billion in planned construction of state-owned buildings in Texas represents a “golden opportunity” for commercial builders, according to a key official who said this is being done in a conservative way that will end up saving taxpayer dollars in the long term.Harvey Hilderbran, a Republican former state representative who now serves as the Executive Director of the State Facilities Commission, recently spoke to AGC members at the Texas Building Branch Convention. According to the AGC-TBB newsletter, Hilderbran said the conservative approach "is to take care of what you own, and owning your own buildings are much less expensive than how much we are currently spending on leases.”
July 13, 2016
A new Obama Administration rule aimed at giving unions more knowledge of discussions between employers and legal counsel is on hold after a federal judge in Texas blocked it nationwide pending the outcome of litigation.The so-called “persuader rule” has long been sought by organized labor and, not surprisingly, has long been opposed by various businesses and businesses groups. What exactly would the rule do? The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog explains it this way:Examples of attorney services that would have to be reported would include: conducting union-avoidance seminars, providing materials to distribute to and persuade workers, and drafting personnel policies dealing with union issues.
July 06, 2016
Last week’s vote by the British to exit, or “Brexit,” the European Union could severely hamper the construction market for a variety of reasons. One key problem is likely to be an increased scarcity of skilled labor for the projects currently on the books.
June 28, 2016
The Business Columnist at the Houston Chronicle over the weekend forcefully made the argument that tackling the skilled worker shortage along the Gulf Coast will take a lot of work."There is plenty of blame to go around for the skilled labor shortage," wrote Chris Tomlinson. "Replacing the retiring workforce will take an all-of-the-above approach, with pre-K through 12th-grade programs graduating career-ready students, community colleges teaching the latest skills, and employers investing in training or agreeing to hire union labor."Tomlinson drilled down on why there's a shortage of skilled workers in the first place. Among others, he spoke with J.D. Slaughter, vice president at S&B Engineers and Constructors:
June 21, 2016
The issue of worker misclassification promises to loom large once again during the next session of the Texas Legislature – and not just as it relates to the construction industry.Misclassification, as Construction Citizen readers know all too well, is when businesses pretend their labor is being done on a subcontracting basis when by law the people doing the work should be compensated as employees.There are, of course, many legitimate uses of contract labor but the problem arises when some companies abuse the subcontractor designation specifically to avoid payroll taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, and other benefits that have traditionally been part of an employer-employee relationship. In construction, businesses that misclassify their workers can often underbid their competitors by as much as roughly 30 percent.During a hearing of the Texas House Business and Industry Committee this past week, lawmakers appeared divided on whether ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft should be able to designate their drivers as independent subcontractors or employees.
June 14, 2016
Business leaders in Houston seem well-positioned to set the tone for how the rest of the nation addresses workforce challenges, experts agree. During a town hall-style event hosted by the Greater Houston Partnership this past week, health care leaders, construction executives and others discussed ways the private sector is taking the lead to ensure that a quality workforce can be cultivated and sustained for decades to come.“Industry is truly leading the initiative,” said Peter Beard, Senior Vice President of Regional Workforce Development at the GHP. He opened a panel discussion by giving specific praise to the construction and petrochemical sectors and said there is a belief that “we share, fundamentally, a workforce.” That’s why addressing the needs of employers and employees will “take a collective effort,” Beard said.
June 09, 2016
Enjoying the holiday and finding time to relax is important. But anyone who dismisses the sacrifices of this nation's heroes does so at his or her own peril.
May 30, 2016
The recent announcement by the IRS Commissioner that the agency is moving forward with hiring hundreds of additional agents has sparked a debate about exactly how those new resources should be utilized. Some leaders in the construction industry have told Construction Citizen that if the government has more people on hand to enforce the law, proper classification of workers should be a priority.Misclassification is the practice of designating an employee as a "1099 worker" or an independent contractor when that person, by law, should be compensated as an employee.Unscrupulous employers do it as a way of sidestepping payroll taxes, unemployment taxes, and workers’ compensation insurance.
May 25, 2016
