Construction Industry

Construction companies bidding on IIJA projects hope to get a piece of the billions of dollars allocated to infrastructure projects. However, with the government funding comes more requirements and obligations. 

Construction contractors and subcontractors that do not typically have exposure to project labor agreements (PLAs) should expect to see them as a result of the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which became law on November 15, 2021.

With the start of a new year, there is no better time to take on employment law compliance.

In September 2021, Congress continues to debate a bipartisan infrastructure bill. The Biden Administration estimates that if its $1 trillion plan is enacted, the legislation will create up to two million new job per year for a decade. Many, if not most, of those new jobs would be in the construction industry.

OFCCP Issues Second Construction Contractor Audit List, Increasing Scrutiny of Contractor Compliance

The U.S. Department of Labor’s regulatory agenda for spring 2021 lists regulations the agency will focus on for the next six months, including 26 Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations, six of which are in the final rule stage and the rest are in the proposed or pre-rule stage. Many of them will directly affect the construction industry. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed amendments to the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS), in 29 CFR 1910.1200, to conform to the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) Revision 7 (GHS, Rev. 7) are substantial and would have broad implications.

Employers can expect union and political pressure to push for neutrality agreements.