Welcome to the February, 2015 Gregory Management & Consulting
Services (GMCS) REGIONAL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY UPDATE.
It’s cold outside, but the industry
remains hot. We continue to present our
second annual 2014 GMCS State of Philadelphia
Labor & Industry Relations report to industry stakeholders and are excited to talk about the
many positive relationships and opportunities that exist for the benefit of
developers, facility owners & managers, contractors and community. From market stabilizing settlements,
innovative and creative language that serves to lower the overall cost of
mechanical contractor installs and service crews to newly crafted
pre-apprenticeship programs that create sustainable, much needed, career
opportunities for the local community, industry stakeholders are benefitting by
listening to and participating in the discussion. As many industry employer associations
continue to refocus their resources towards legislative affairs & political
agendas in 2015, and away from providing positive industry & labor
relations, GMCS Contracted Labor &
Industry Relations Services has become a valuable tool for those
developers, facility owners & managers, contractors and employer groups
that are interested in connecting the communication dots across a highly
fragmented and often dysfunctional industry. GMCS
has become the only recognized, educated, experienced and reliable source for
labor & industry relation’s support in the Mid Atlantic marketplace. We
are the single, unbiased, industry wide provider of labor & industry
relation’s support for the entire Mid-Atlantic region assuring information
sharing, professional, educated and experienced support to the entire industry
along with centralized labor event tracking, data sharing and a vendor that
serves each association and independent contractor.
Our region will once again see
significant collective bargaining throughout 2015 with at least (9) Collective Bargaining Agreements that will be actively
negotiated or extended in 2015. Recent industry developments, including the creation of a new employer association of subcontractors
& contractors operating throughout the Mid Atlantic region,
existing labor/management relationships and the ongoing need for productive,
positive relationships within the marketplace, will most certainly have an
impact on this year’s collective bargaining and likely alter the BATNA’s
for both labor and management. With the
reality of a new regional employer association and
associated new Mid Atlantic collective
bargaining agreement, employers and labor have some new options and
opportunities to consider. GMCS continues to provide guidance and
direction to contractors on this subject throughout the run-up and completion
of collective bargaining. Questions or
comments on this subject should be directed to Wayne
Gregory @ wegregory@gregorymcs.com.
GMCS continues to collaborate with regional developers,
governmental authorities, facility owners, contactors and trades to advance our
projects and to prepare for many more in the coming months. Developers, facility owners and contractors
continue to recognize the value of bringing GMCS
into the discussion early on in the planning phases of their projects. Developers and facility owners and
contractors find tangible value and security in GMCS’s
broad regional contractor knowledge base, trusted relationships
and continued participation in industry wide discussions that seek to maintain
harmony between facility owners, constructors and building trades. We accomplish this through our long standing
and trusted relationships in government, management and labor through the
application of collaborative engagement and open discussion. We help project stakeholders reach mutually
acceptable resolutions enabling projects, their contractors and employees to
return to work quickly. In many cases,
even before the dispute reaches the project.
GMCS is filling the
industry leadership void by providing an open
conduit for communication amongst the region’s developers, facility owners,
governmental authorities, employer associations, trades and industry
stakeholders through facilitating discussions that lead to solutions. GMCS nurtures a Culture of Collaboration, Communication and
Cooperation amongst Contractors and Building Trades and
remains firmly committed to our contractors and our industry. Developers and facility owners should
consider making GMCS an
integral part of their next project planning team. We continue
to be a conduit for communication amongst the region’s employer associations,
trades and industry stakeholders. Many association members and national &
local contractors, have come to rely on our professional and respected service
when they need estimating, bidding and or project advice. Did you know that national contractors that
are interested in working within the Philadelphia marketplace contact GMCS for advice on establishing key
relationships within the industry and its AEC community to gain a better
understanding of the region’s collective bargaining agreements, language and
contractor base? If you or your employer
association aren’t working with GMCS,
perhaps it’s time to reconsider?
GMCS Contracted Labor
& Industry Relations Services clients
already have access to our industry wide network of contractors when employers
need to fill important leadership roles within their organizations. GMCS
regularly assists their contracted clients and national recruiting firms in
securing qualified and experienced personnel placements for mission critical
positions such as, project executives, project managers, estimators,
superintendents and facilities experts. GMCS provides
employer fee-paid recruitment services concentrating in the Mid-Atlantic
construction industry marketplace. With over 25 years of
industry contacts & experience within the Philadelphia metropolitan region
and developed industry relationships to work from, GMCS has
become a powerful recruiting
organization in this region’s construction industry marketplace. Our goal is to provide our clients and
candidates with superior quality recruitment services while maintaining the
highest degree of integrity, confidentiality and professionalism. Go here to find out more about our Employer and Candidate Services. In addition to employer
fee-paid recruitment services, GMCS maintains an active network of experienced
industry professional candidates that are currently exploring
their next career opportunity. GMCS actively markets these candidates to
both regional and national firms as well as partnering recruitment agencies
throughout the country. Interested
candidates and employers should contact Wayne
Gregory today at wegregory@gregorymcs.com
to discuss the best GMCS employment
and recruitment solution for you.
Having successfully resolved hundreds
of matters related to area collective bargaining agreements and contractors
throughout the Philadelphia metropolitan, Lehigh Valley and the entire
Mid-Atlantic region, GMCS has become the only
recognized, educated, experienced and reliable source for labor & industry
relation’s support. GMCS is the single, unbiased, industry wide
provider of labor & industry relation’s support for the entire Mid-Atlantic
region assuring information sharing, professional, educated and experienced
support to the entire industry along with centralized labor event tracking,
data sharing and a vendor that serves each association & contractor, not
just a single association’s board of directors.
This is the most effective and equitable model in management side
construction labor relations.
Association members interested in receiving these valuable and
informative support services through their associations should contact their
board of directors and request a free consultation. Independent contractor signatories and
facility owners are urged to contact Wayne Gregory directly at GMCS, wegregory@gregorymcs.com. We are
focused on facilitating communication and collaboration amongst our construction
employer associations, constructors, facility owners, building trades and
governmental bodies with an emphasis on creating a centralized, focused
community that actively promotes labor harmony, industry advancement,
contractor opportunities and workforce development.
This month’s newsletter
is comprised of the most popular postings over the last 30 days on
gregorymcs.blogspot.com. They are listed by the following categories: INDUSTRY, LABOR, OSHA, MULTIEMPLOYER PENSION
PLANS and HUMAN RESOURCES. Additional topics and subject matter may be found on the GMCS companion blog @
gregorymcs.blogspot.com. GMCS continues to track relevant industry legislation and provide
summary updates through its companion blog under the Gregory Legislative Subscription Service
(GLASS) Reports. Associations and
organizations that subscribe to the GMCS GLASS Reports receive timely updates to each piece of legislation impacting
their organizations as they occur along. Between
our companion blog at gregorymcs.blogspot.com
and the newsletter, our monthly industry reach continues to exceed 4,500
industry professionals interested in discovering more about the latest
Industry, Labor, OSHA, Multi-Employer Benefit Plans and HR developments here in
the regional construction marketplace and abroad. Sponsorship and
marketing opportunities are available to industry stakeholders and contractors;
interested firms should contact Wayne Gregory
@ wegregory@gregorymcs.com for more
information.
INDUSTRY:
JDS, PMG look to build supertall tower sans union labor:
If it’s up to the developers, one of
the city’s tallest towers could rise without the help of any union labor. The
1,400-foot-tall, 80-story tower proposed for 111 West 57th Street, developed by
Michael Stern’s JDS Development Group and Kevin Maloney’s Property Markets
Group would be the city’s tallest-ever tower built with nonunion labor.
Read more here…
STRIKE UPDATE:
Construction Contractors Council, AGC Labor Division,(“DC Contractors”) and The
Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters:
In response to the current strike with
the Construction Contractors Council, several Contractors have joined together
to form a new contractor association, the Mid-Atlantic Association of
Subcontractors & Contractors, or “MASC.’
Read more here…
Kemel G. Dawkins, 91,
retired president of construction company:
Kemel G. Dawkins was the retired
president of Kemrodco Development & Construction Company and KD Builders
and Managers, Inc.
Read more here…
Graham Architectural
Products makes 'significant' investment in Florida glass company?:
Spring Garden Township-based Graham
Architectural Products Corp., part of The Graham Group, has acquired a
"significant equity and operating partner position" in Florida-based
Continental Glass Systems LLC, the company announced today.
GAP is a leading manufacturer of
architectural-grade windows, window wall, doors and curtain wall. In addition
to York County, the company has manufacturing locations in New Castle and
Merrill, Wis.
Read more here…
Philly metro's apartment
vacancies tightened to just 3.1% in Q4:
While there has been conjecture in some
quarters of the local real estate blogosphere that perhaps all the new
construction that's been happening means there is a housing bubble in
Philadelphia, the latest quarterly data from Reis ought to deflate that notion.
Read
more here…
Real estate giant the
Related Companies breaks ground on first residential tower at Hudson Yards:
Related began construction on the west side mega project exactly two years ago:
It will be the first of several
residential towers at the $20 billion megaproject, which will comprise 16
skyscrapers at the site of the West Side rail yard in the West 30s.
Construction on the new urban metropolis began two years ago, today.
Read more here…
Eighty percent of
construction firms plan to expand their payrolls in 2015: Most Firms Expect
Growth this Year, But Are Coping With Worker Shortages:
Eighty percent of construction firms
plan to expand their payrolls in 2015 while only 7 percent expect to reduce
headcounts according to survey results released today by the Associated General
Contractors of America. The survey, conducted as part of Ready to Hire Again:
The 2015 Construction Industry Hiring and Business Outlook, indicates that most
contractors are optimistic about the year ahead and ready to expand, but will
have to cope with challenges including worker shortages and regulatory burdens.
Read more here…
Construction Spending
Drops in November as Monthly Public-Sector and Private Nonresidential Declines
Offset Private Residential Uptick:
Construction spending edged down in
November but outlays for the year remained on track for a modest increase over
2013 totals, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of
America. Association officials said the new spending figures come as the
group's members prepare a new push for action on a series of federal
infrastructure programs, including funding for highway and transit upgrades and
to maintain clean water systems across the country.
Read more here…
4th Quarter 2014
Construction Data Index:
Our 4th Quarter 2014 Construction Data Index is
completed and we finished out the year strong with a majority of respondents,
88 percent, stating that business was doing as good or better than it was six
months ago. Future outlook was the highest we’ve ever recorded in the 4th
Quarter with 66 percent of respondents stating that they expect to be doing
better in six months which is a great way to roll into 2015.
Read
more here…
BIM Evolved: Schneider
Electric and Autodesk begin collaboration on building lifecycle management:
The shift toward digital BIM processes
is part of the solution to more energy efficient homes and buildings by
delivering greater agility and long-term sustainability.
Schneider Electric has announced the
signature of a Memorandum of Understanding. According to this agreement,
Schneider Electric and Autodesk plan to collaborate to enhance current
practices for building lifecycle management based on Building Information
Modeling (BIM).
Read more here….
BIM Evolved: UTSA's new
learning lab to help foster next generation of construction professionals
The laboratory includes two classrooms.
One is a 30-seat computer lab with a large screen for students to learn about
computer modeling. The other classroom includes a 15-foot interactive
projector.
Read more here…
The Employment Situation Summary –
December, 2014: Construction added 48,000 jobs in December, well above the
employment gains in recent months.:
Construction added 48,000 jobs in
December, well above the employment gains in
recent months. Specialty trade contractors added jobs in December
(+26,000), with the gain about equally split between residential and
nonresidential contractors. Employment also increased in heavy and civil
engineering construction (+12,000) and in nonresidential building (+10,000).
Read more here…
Value of Construction
Put in Place at a Glance - November 2014:
NOVEMBER 2014 CONSTRUCTION AT $975.0
BILLION ANNUAL RATE - 0.3 percent (±1.5%)* below the revised October estimate
of $977.7 billion. Private construction exceeds estimates while public
construction fails to perform.
Read more here…
DODGE – DMI: Dodge Momentum Index Increases in December,
2014:
The Dodge Momentum Index rose in
December, increasing 4.0% from a revised 123.8 in November to 128.7 in December
according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The Momentum Index is a monthly
measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects
in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for
nonresidential buildings by a full year. The Index is currently at its highest
reading since February 2009 and is 17% higher than one year ago. The increases
seen in the Index in 2014 are a signal that the construction recovery will
continue into 2015.
Read more here…
Architecture Billings
Index: Architecture Billings Index Rebounds to End 2014 on Solid Footing
There were ten out of twelve months of
increasing demand for design services in 2014, and the Architecture Billings
Index (ABI) points to a healthy outlook for the nonresidential construction
industry. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI
reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lead time between architecture
billings and construction spending.
Read more here…
LABOR:
Collective Bargaining in 2014 Yields Average First-Year
Increase of 2.3%:
Construction-industry
collective bargaining negotiations settled during 2014 resulted in an average
first-year increase in wages and benefits of $1.07 per hour or 2.3 percent,
according to the annual year-end Settlements Report issued by the AGC-supported
Construction Labor Research Council. For
newly negotiated multi-year contracts, the average negotiated second-year
increase was $1.31 or 2.4 percent, and the average third-year increase was
$1.37 or 2.5 percent.
Read more here…
2015 Regional Collective Bargaining Agreements for
Philadelphia Commercial Construction and Heavy & Highway Contractors:
With another
active year of collective bargaining ahead, owners and developers are urged to
keep a close eye on the current state of labor and industry relations within
the industry.
IBEW 98 adds Philly suburbs: Local 380 is absorbed and
becomes IBEW 98 N(orth):
The International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98, the Philadelphia electricians' and
computer workers' union headed by John Dougherty, the most politically
successful of area labor leaders recently, has doubled its geographic
jurisdiction by absorbing smaller IBEW Local 380 and its 100-acre Collegeville
office and training center, Doughtery told me.
Read more here…
Union sends messages of frustration in U.S. refinery
contract talks:
In five days of
negotiations for a new three-year contract covering hourly workers at 63 U.S.
refineries, the United Steelworkers union (USW) has sent only messages of
frustration to its members.
Read more here…
Construction Employment Increases in 224
out of 339 Metro Areas Between November 2013 & 2014: Labor shortages
threaten to undermine the sector's recovery:
Construction employment expanded in 224
metro areas, declined in 64 and was stagnant in 51 between November 2013 and
November 2014, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released
today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials
said contractors in many parts of the country were benefitting from growing
demand, yet labor shortages threaten to undermine the sector's recovery.
Read more here…
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary – November 2014:
Hiring remaining steady while
Separations lessens: There were 5.0 million job openings on the last business
day of November, little changed from 4.8 million in October, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Hires (5.0 million) were little changed and
separations (4.6 million) declined in November. Within separations, the quits
rate (1.9 percent) was unchanged and the layoffs and discharges rate (1.2
percent) was little changed. This release includes estimates of the number and
rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry
and by four geographic regions.
Read more here…
SCOTUS ruling (M&G Polymers USA) in retiree health
benefits case called ‘cautionary tale’:
If unionized retirees are entitled to
retiree health benefits, their contract cannot beat around the bush on the
topic; it must be made clear. Or, at a minimum, courts cannot jump to
conclusions without a broad-scale examination of the dispute.
Read more here…
NLRB poised to relax standard for establishing joint
employment:
Many business analysts are projecting
that a Board decision finding that McDonald’s is a joint employer with its
franchisees would rock the fast food industry as well as the many other
industries that rely heavily on the franchising model for their economic
viability. While the McDonald’s complaints are getting a lot of attention, the
Board itself is expected to make a decision any day now in Browning-Ferris
Industries of California, Inc., in which it is expected to overturn a
30-year-old standard for determining if joint employer status is appropriate in
the context of the relationship between a temporary staffing company and its
client. These developments could not only result in improving union
organization odds, but also an upheaval in how these common business models
typically operate
Read more here…
NLRB Issues Final Rule to “Modernize” Representation-Case
Procedures:
The National Labor Relations Board has
adopted a final rule amending its representation–case procedures to modernize
and streamline the process for resolving representation disputes. The rule will
be published in the Federal Register on December 15, and will take effect on
April 14, 2015.
Read more here…
NLRB overturns Register Guard - Employee use of email for
statutorily protected communications on nonworking time must presumptively be
permitted by employers who have chosen to give employees access to their email
systems:
At issue in this
case is the right of employees under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations
Act to effectively communicate with one another at work regarding
self-organization and other terms and conditions of employment. 1 The workplace
is “uniquely appropriate” and “the natural gathering place” for such communications,2
and the use of email as a common form of workplace communication has expanded
dramatically in recent years. Consistent with the purposes and policies of the
Act and our obligation to accommodate the competing rights of employers and
employees, we decide today that employee use of email for statutorily protected
communications on nonworking time must presumptively be permitted by employers
who have chosen to give employees access to their email systems. We therefore
overrule the Board’s divided 2007 decision in Register Guard to the extent it
holds that employees can have no statutory right to use their employer’s email
systems for Section 7 purposes.
Read more here…
Regional Collective Bargaining Settlement Sheets
available:
GMCS has compiled
a detailed settlement report defining the regional trade settlements from last
year’s collective bargaining as well as detailing the previously negotiated
settlements for trades and associations. Copies are available to
associations engaged in regional negotiations. Please contact GMCS at wegregory@gregorymcs.com
today for instructions on how to receive your copy.
GMCS is the Philadelphia Region’s Leading Labor Relations
Solutions Provider:
A recent study by the Center
for Construction Research and Training indicates that work site conflict costs,
on average, $11,000.00 per incident. GMCS provides contracted labor
relations services to many of the region’s employer associations, contractors,
facility owners and industry stakeholders helping you to avoid those costly
conflicts. With two levels of affordable annual
agreements costing less than 50% of the cost of an average conflict, contracted labor relations services can
help your organization stay on schedule and budget.
Contact
wegregory@gregorymcs.com
for your consultation today.
Union Members Summary – 2014 - Union Membership Rate down
another 0.2 percentage:
In 2014, the union
membership rate--the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of
unions--was 11.1 percent, down 0.2 percentage point from 2013, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today. The number of wage and salary workers
belonging to unions, at 14.6 million, was little different from 2013. In 1983,
the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union
membership rate was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million union workers.
Read more here…
OSHA & SAFETY:
Employers must post 300A
injury/illness summary form, February through April:
OSHA is reminding
covered employers to post OSHA's Form 300A, which summarizes the total number
of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred during 2014 and were logged
on OSHA's Form 300, the log of work-related injuries and illnesses. The summary
must be posted between Feb. 1 and April 30, 2015, and should be displayed in a
common area where notices to employees are usually posted.
Read more here…
OSHA Incident Reporting Reminder:
New reporting requirements now in effect:
Beginning yesterday, Jan. 1, 2015,
there is a change to what covered employers are required to report to the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Employers are now required to report all work-related
fatalities within 8 hours and all inpatient hospitalizations, amputations, and
losses of an eye within 24 hours of finding out about the incident.
Read more here…
OSHA publishes directive for
compliance officers for inspecting cranes and derricks:
Last month OSHA issued a directive
(PDF*) for OSHA compliance officers on enforcing requirements of the Cranes and
Derricks in Construction standard. The new directive provides OSHA compliance
personnel with direction on performing inspections where power-operated
equipment, covered by Subpart CC - Cranes and Derricks in Construction, is
present on a construction worksite.
New web resource for residential
construction employers to protect workers from falls:
To assist employers in selecting
effective fall protection methods to protect workers in residential
construction, a new website provides details about equipment highlighted in
OSHA's Guidance Document for Residential Construction (PDF*).
Read more here…
Guardrail Falls 81 Stories at Park
Avenue Tower Work Site:
The section, about eight feet long,
hurtled to the sidewalk on Wednesday after it became dislodged from the hoist
at the 81st floor of the 96-story condominium, according to Buildings
Department records. It landed in front of the main entrance of an occupied
building across 56th Street, the department said. Nobody was injured.
Read more here…
Construction worker falls after
airport hangar collapses:
Authorities say a construction worker
has fallen after a hangar under construction at the Morristown Municipal
Airport collapsed.
Read more here…
OSHA publications accessible on
smartphones and tablets; Safety and Health Information Bulletins available:
If you use a smartphone or a tablet on
the job, important worker safety and health information is a click away. Dozens
of electronic publications can be downloaded at no cost from OSHA's
Publications Web page. To order publications, contact OSHA's Publications
Office at 202-693-1888.
Read more here…
New wallet cards available:
"OSHA Reporting Requirements for Employers," "OSHA's Hazard
Identification Training Tool," and "Whistleblowers: Work without
Risk":
A new wallet-sized card, "OSHA
Reporting Requirements for Employers," (PDF*) details the severe injuries
employers are now required to report to OSHA.
Read more here…
Alliance with Scaffold and Access
Industry Association renewed to protect workers from scaffold hazards:
OSHA has renewed its alliance with the
Scaffold and Access Industry Association to provide information and training to
protect the safety and health of workers who use scaffolds and lift equipment.
Through the alliance, OSHA and SAIA will work to reduce and prevent fall and
caught-in-between hazards and issues related to frame, mast climbing and
suspended scaffolds and aerial lift equipment.
Read more here…
OSHA urges Employers to prevent
texting while driving:
OSHA reminds employers that they have a
responsibility to protect their workers by prohibiting texting while driving.
It is a violation of the OSH Act if employers require workers to text while
driving, create incentives that encourage or condone it, or structure work so
that texting is a practical necessity for workers to carry out their job.
Read more here…
OSHA National fall Prevention
Program:
Falls are the leading cause of death in
construction, and OSHA is working with NIOSH and the National Occupational
Research Agenda to get the word out about how to "Plan, Provide,
Train" to prevent fatal falls. To learn more, please check out OSHA’s Fall
Prevention Campaign resource page here…
MULTI-EMPLOYER PLAN UPDATE:
Milliman analysis: Pension Funding Index December 2015:
The funded status of the 100 largest
corporate defined pension plans fell by $22 billion during December as measured
by the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI). In 2014, historically low
interest rates were the dominant factor in the $105 billion deficit increase.
Pension liabilities increased by $186 billion, while higher than expected
investment returns produced an $81 billion gain. The funded ratio was 83.6% as
of December 31, 2014, down compared with the ratio of 88.3% on December 31,
2013.
Read more here…
Corporate
Pension Plan Funding Levels Declined in 2014, Reversing Much of 2013 Gains,
Towers Watson Analysis Finds:
The pension funded status of the
nation’s largest corporate sponsors reversed direction in 2014, dropping nine
percentage points as falling interest rates (which increased liabilities) and
the impact of new mortality tables were only partially offset by strong returns
on pension plan assets, according to a new analysis by global professional
services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW).
Read more here…
ACA coverage and the
multiemployer plan problem:
As we move in to the first phase of ACA
compliance, a number of employers have been asking me about unionized employees
and how they can know whether the employees are “offered” coverage (as required
to avoid penalties) when coverage is provided through a multiemployer plan to
which the employer contributes. The concern is that since the ACA requires an
employer to offer coverage, and because the multiemployer plan is not
technically their own plan, are they really offering coverage so as to avoid the
penalties?
Read more here…
Are pensions dead?:
Over the past few decades, there has
been a lot of discussion about the demise of defined benefit pension plans.
Back in 1970, an actuary named Bill Halvorson wrote an article in which he
predicted that pension plans would be dead in the year 2000. Today, these plans
aren’t dead, but they are on life support. Defined benefit plans are still
relevant, but defined contribution plans have become more popular. The best
solution for retirement would be a combination of defined benefit and defined
contribution plans in addition to social security.
Read more here…
Multiemployer pension
plan reform signed into law: Now what?:
When the House passed the most recent
budget bill, it included a provision related to multiemployer pension plan
reform. In my last post, I suggested it might be too early to count on anything
being final in that bill until it made it into law. Well, go ahead and start
considering it because not only did the Senate pass it, but President Obama
signed it into law. And some professionals are touting it as the most comprehensive
legislation affecting multiemployer pension plans since the Multiemployer
Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980.
Read more here…
2014 Multiemployer Pension Funding Study:
Thanks
to a combination of favorable investment experience, contribution increases,
and benefit reductions, funding levels for multiemployer plans have nearly
returned to pre-crash funding levels, at least on an aggregated basis. The
significant improvement in aggregate funded status since early 2009 reflects
not only favorable investment returns, but also contribution increases
(including withdrawal liability collections) and benefit reductions enacted by
plans as they responded to the financial crisis.
Read more here…
Pension Benefit Guarantee
Corporation (PBGC) Annual Report – 2014; Despite the improving economy, an
increase in probable multiemployer plan insolvencies has dramatically worsened
the financial position of the multiemployer program:
The
PBGC insures the benefits for more than 41 million workers and retirees. During
the past 12 months, we became responsible for an additional 97 trusteed
single-employer plans with about 53,000 participants. The agency began
providing financial assistance to 9 newly insolvent multiemployer plans with
about 4,300 people. We oversee the investment of about $80 billion in assets.
And this year, PBGC attained its 22nd consecutive unmodified financial
statement audit opinion.
Read more here…
HUMAN RESOURCES:
H.R. 30, Save American Workers Act of 2015 – Legislation
that would raise the threshold that defines full-time employment from 30 hours
per week under current law to 40 hours per week, and it would apply that higher
threshold in two ways in the calculation of penalties:
As introduced in the House of
Representatives on January 6, 2015, H.R. 30 would change how penalties are
imposed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on employers that do not offer
insurance (or offer insurance that does not meet certain criteria) and that
have at least one full-time employee receiving a subsidy through a health
insurance exchange. The legislation would raise the threshold that defines
full-time employment from 30 hours per week under current law to 40 hours per
week, and it would apply that higher threshold in two ways in the calculation
of penalties.
Read more here…
No Arbitration Where Employer Was Unable To Authenticate
Employee's Electronic Signature on Arbitration Agreement:
The California Court of Appeal, Fourth
District, recently affirmed an order denying a petition to compel arbitration
where the employer failed to present sufficient evidence that the employee
electronically signed an arbitration agreement. This decision serves as a
reminder to employers and consumer financial services companies that agreements
to arbitrate, while now overwhelmingly accepted as a matter of law, must still
satisfy basic contract formation principles.
Read more here…
A checklist of 2015 contribution limits:
At the beginning of each year, there
are certain contribution limits for retirement plans and welfare plans that I
check on just to make sure I am current on my numbers. While the list is not
exhaustive, there are some that seem to jump out more often than others and I
have compiled a list of the ones that I commonly refer to.
Read more here…
Make sure smartphones mean smart business: Beware of
wage-and-hour hazards:
Ever wonder if your nonexempt employees
are sneaking a peek at work email off the clock? Ever suspect their bosses of
pressuring them to respond to calls and emails after the workday ends? If those
thoughts keep you up at night, it’s time to make sure your employees’
smartphones aren’t putting your organization at risk of violating wage and hour
laws.
Read more here…
Employers aren’t ready for boomer exodus:
Many employers apparently believe the
strong work ethic generally assigned to baby boomers is going to keep them in
the harness well past traditional retirement age. Either that, or many
employers just aren’t thinking through their workforce planning very
strategically.
Read more here…
DOJ Says Title VII's Sex Discrimination Prohibition
Includes Gender Identity – Employers Should Consider Policy Revision:
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has
announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) now takes the position that
Title VII's prohibition against sex discrimination includes discrimination
based on gender identity, including transgender status. In a press release
issued December 18, 2014, the Attorney General stated that he has informed all
DOJ component heads and U.S. attorneys in a memo that the department will no
longer assert that Title VII's prohibition against discrimination based on sex
excludes discrimination based on gender identity per se, including transgender
discrimination.
Read more here…
Workplace policies: Recognizing the good, the bad, and
the ugly:
Employment policies: Do they keep
organizations running smoothly? Or are they trouble waiting to happen? The
answer to both questions is: sometimes.
Human resources professionals spend a
lot of time working on policies they hope will lead to productive, fair
workplaces. Often, though, policies can cause more problems than they solve.
Adding to the dilemma, HR practitioners and legal experts don’t always agree on
what makes a good policy.
Read more here…
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