Kentucky Amends Apprenticeship Ratio Regulations
Kentucky recently moved to amend the state’s apprentice-to-journeyperson ratio requirements, allowing more apprentices to enter the state’s construction industry.
Apprenticeship ratios mandate the number of journeypersons who must be employed for each apprentice hired and are used in the construction trades as a training and safety measure. Previously, the regulation in Kentucky stated that three journeypersons were required for every apprentice on a jobsite. The adopted regulatory change will allow two apprentices per journeyperson, a significant change in the ratio standards that will allow employers to bring on more first-year apprentices without compromising workplace safety.
Other state initiatives to reform apprenticeship ratios have picked up steam in recent legislative sessions. In 2016, Michigan reformed its apprenticeship ratio requirements by increasing the required ratio of electrical apprentice-to-journeyperson ratios from one-to-one to three-to-one. Last year, Wisconsin lawmakers approved changes setting apprentice-to-journeyperson ratios at one-to-one for all construction trades.
County in New Mexico Approves Paid Leave for Workers
New Mexico’s first paid time off ordinance was adopted in Bernalillo County and will go into effect on July 1, 2020.
ABC, as a member of the Albuquerque Coalition for a Healthy Economy, stands with numerous pro-business groups that have expressed concerns with the following provisions of the new Employee Wellness Act: the ordinance should not apply to part-time, seasonal or temporary workers; employees may file complaints with the county against employers that choose not to comply, incurring civil penalties; micro-business and start-ups will be impacted; the ordinance shifted from the original purpose of “sick leave” to using accrued leave for “any reason”; and more.
ABC believes that vacation and sick leave policies are more complicated than allowed for by the sweeping passage of the ordinance.
Ohio Supreme Court Upholds ABC-Backed Legislation
In a huge victory for ABC and its member companies, the Ohio Supreme Court has upheld HB 180, previously passed in 2016 by the state legislature, prohibiting residency requirements for contractors working on public construction projects.
The 4-3 decision was exacted on a challenge by the City of Cleveland, which was one of a series of municipalities to pass employment quotas of government contractors. These “local-hire” requirements call for specific percentages of a project or bid’s workforce to permanently reside in the locality where the project is being financed or built, which usually serve to increase construction costs and decrease productivity, among other issues.
Prior to this ruling, local hiring mandates have been found to violate both the Privileges and Immunities clause, as well as the Commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution in several other states.
Hawaii Adopts Public Labor Agreement With Local Unions
The Honolulu City Council has approved a project labor agreement (PLA) with the Hawaii Building and Construction Trades Council in tandem with the Hawaii Construction Alliance and their affiliated labor unions for certain “critical city projects.”
The ordinance, termed a “community workforce agreement,” will apply largely to road, wastewater, drainage and park improvement projects that the city needs completed in a timely, cost-efficient fashion. The official verbiage in the policy, Bill 37, describes eligible projects as “any large-scale public works … in which there is a contract for construction procurement in excess of $2,000,000.” Under this definition, nearly two-thirds of licensed contractors in the State of Hawaii will be prevented from fulfilling projects, driving up cost and preventing competition.
In spite of valid arguments by opponents of the bill, including ABC Hawaii, that it violates both state and federal laws, Mayor Kirk Caldwell allowed the bill to become law over the weekend of October 26-27.
