OSHA Updates Guidance in Light of COVID-19 Delta Variant
Given the rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant, OSHA issued updated guidance in August to align with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and assist employers in abating hazards.
The guidance encourages employers to provide paid time off for workers to get vaccinated and to recover from any side effects. It also suggests that employers “consider adopting policies that require workers to get vaccinated or to undergo regular COVID-19 testing—in addition to mask wearing and physical distancing—if they remain unvaccinated.”
While reiterating earlier guidance from January and June, the update includes CDC’s current recommendations for face coverings and provides a checklist for protecting unvaccinated and high-risk employees. For more information, visit osha.gov.
NSC Offers Toolkit for Addressing Workplace Opioid Misuse
The National Safety Council has resources on hand for employers concerned about rising rates of prescription drug abuse in the construction industry. An online toolkit, “Begin Addressing Opioids in Your Organization” includes sample policies, fact sheets, presentations, safety talks, posters, white papers, reports, videos that can assist with implementing a workplace program for preventing opioid misuse.
The kit recommends ways for employers to recognize the signs of impairment, educate employees on the risks of opioid use, develop drug-related HR policies and support employees who are struggling with addiction. For more information, visit nsc.org/pages/prescription-drug-employer-kit.
New Filing Deadline Set for EEO-1 Component 1 Data
Due to the continuing impact of COVID-19 on business operations, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission extended the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection filing deadline to Oct. 25, 2021. The deadline was previously extended from July 19 to Aug. 23. The EEOC indicated that the new deadline is final, and all eligible filers must submit data by this date. The EEOC encourages eligible employers to file the required EEO-1 Component 1 report(s) as soon as possible.
According to the EEO-1 Component 1 website, the EEO-1 Component 1 report is a mandatory annual data collection that requires all private sector employers with 100 or more employees, and federal contractors with 50 or more employees meeting certain criteria, to submit demographic workforce data, including data by race/ethnicity, sex and job categories. Resources to assist filers with their submissions are available at eeocdata.org/eeo1.
DOL Recedes Joint Employer Status in FLSA Final Rule
Associated Builders and Contractors released a statement opposing the U.S. Department of Labor’s recent rescission of the Joint Employer Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act final rule.
“ABC supported the prior final rule because it promised to bring additional clarity to a confusing area of the law, help alleviate unnecessary barriers to and burdens on contractor and subcontractor relationships throughout the construction industry, reduce needless litigation and encourage innovation in the economy,” says Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs.
The earlier rule, which went into effect on March 16, 2020, promised to make the joint employment test narrower and more focused. In February 2020, 18 states had sued DOL in federal court to strike down its joint employer final rule, but in September 2020 a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York judge ruled that parts of the final rule were illegal. A business coalition that includes ABC intervened in the case, in part to defend the construction industry against unwarranted attacks by the state plaintiffs on the industry’s long-established methods of doing business. For more information, visit abc.org.
ELFA Reports July 2021 Economic Activity
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross-section of the $900 billion equipment finance sector, offers critical takeaways for construction.
- The overall new business volume for July was $9.9 billion, up 9% year-over-year.
- Volume was down 5% month-to-month from $10.4 billion in June 2021.
- Receivables over 30 days were 1.9%, an increase from 1.8% the previous month and a decrease from 2.4% in the same period in 2020.
- Charge-offs were 0.18%, down from 0.22% the previous month and down from 0.73% in the year-earlier period.
- Credit approvals totaled 76.5%, down from 76.7 % in June.
- Total headcount for equipment finance companies was down 13.9% year-over-year.
Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) in August is 66.6, a decrease from the July index of 72.9.
Apartment Construction Booms Across U.S.
The 2021 apartment construction market is going strong, despite the past year’s setbacks. Per a report from RentCafé, developers are putting 334,000 new apartments on the market this year, amounting to just a 2.5% drop from 2020. The steady stream of real estate has resulted in a development boom, with several metro areas benefiting.
- Eight metro areas out of top 20 are expected to hit a 5-year high in apartment construction, including Kansas City, Missouri (4,967 units), and Raleigh, North Carolina (4,836 units).
- Only six cities in the top 20 experienced decreases in apartment construction compared with 13 of 20 in 2020.
- The New York metro has returned to pre-pandemic levels with 19,375 projected units.
- Dallas-Forth Worth is expecting 21,173 new units by the end of the year and Phoenix will supply 15,846 to its population. Charlotte, North Carolina, and Orlando, Florida, are also booming markets with 10,723 and 8,211 units respectively.
Access the full study at rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/apartment-construction-2021.
EPA Announces 2021 Top Cities
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its annual “Top Cities” lists, announcing the Top 10 Small Cities, Top 10 Mid-Size Cities and Top 25 Large Cities for ENERGY STAR Certified Buildings in 2021. To create the annual list, EPA tallies the number of ENERGY STAR-certified buildings within each metropolitan area, as defined by the U.S. Census. 6,500 commercial buildings earned the ENERGY STAR last year, which use an average of 35% less energy and are responsible for 35% less carbon dioxide emissions than typical buildings.
The Top 10 Small Cities include: Jackson, Michigan; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Sioux City, Iowa; Wheeling, West Virginia; and Muskegon, Michigan.
The Top 10 Mid-Size Cities include: San Jose, California; Raleigh, North Carolina; Des Moines, Iowa; Nashville, Tennessee; and Grand Rapid, Michigan.
The Top 25 Large Cities include: Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; Atlanta; and New York.
For the full list, visit energystar.gov/topcities.
