Construction Industry

According to the national construction industry trade association Associated Builders and Contractors, construction labor demands are high. 

According to the national construction industry trade association Associated Builders and Contractors, construction labor demands are high. The construction business pays well and offers great opportunities for progression. The traditionally male-dominated industry has struggled, however, to convince women to join its workforce.

With the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) increasing the number of construction contractors it audits, construction employers should monitor OFCCP’s regulatory requirements for construction contractors, the new Mega Project Program, and OFCCP’s June 2023 audit list.

Despite the potential growth due to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has identified discrimination, harassment, and the lack of gender and racial diversity in the construction industry as challenges to diversity and inclusion efforts in the industry.

The federal government’s focus on the construction industry is growing as more construction companies benefit from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The IIJA was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021, and is funneling millions of dollars into infrastructure improvement projects.

In its report, “Building for the Future: Advancing Equal Opportunity in the Construction Industry,” the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) identifies the challenges to diversity and inclusion in the industry and promises to take steps, including releasing industry-specific technical assistance for employers, unions, and workers, to enhance diversity and inclusion.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has made finding independent contractor status harder under the National Labor Relations Act. The Atlanta Opera, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 95 (2023). This decision may significantly affect business in the construction industry, where employers frequently confront the dilemma of how to classify their work relationships.

Construction and extraction occupations accounted for the second highest number of occupational deaths out of the total 5,190 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in the 2021 calendar year, according to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Safety and Health Statistics program. This marks an 8.9% increase from the 4,764 fatal work injuries reported in 2020.

Top leaders of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have detailed new and upcoming enforcement efforts to protect “vulnerable workers” (i.e., immigrant, minority, female, and lower-paid) who may be more vulnerable to workplace hazards.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Directorate of Construction Director Scott Ketcham gave a review of the agency’s focus on the construction industry at the American Bar Association’s 2023 Midwinter Meeting of the Workplace and Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee on March 10, 2023

Keeping Up With the Changing Law Restricting Employee Competition in the Construction Industry

The legal landscape is rapidly changing with regards to restrictive covenants used by employers to protect against unfair competition and solicitation by current or former employees. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) promised in a March 2022 hearing to address what it considered to be “severe and pervasive” discrimination in the construction sector. According to EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows, “[M]any women and people of color have either been shut out of construction jobs or face discrimination that limits their ability to thrive in these careers.”

Construction Companies Become Latest Targets of EEOC