A Department of Labor rule effective next month establishes a system to advance development of Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP) and guidelines for third-party stakeholders to become Standards Recognition Entities (SRE). The rule reflects input from a July-August 2019 public comment period during which the Department’s Employment and Training Administration logged a record 326,798 responses.
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Agency launches Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program portal
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
The Labor Department’s Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAP) Standards Recognition Entities (SRE) online application portal has gone live. Excepting those in construction trades, the program enables organizations to pursue SRE certification, then develop and administer training for paid apprenticeships in manufacturing and other sectors.
Read MoreFeds speed access to Davis-Bacon prevailing wage data
Sources: Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division; National Electrical Contractors Association, Bethesda, Md.
The Labor Department is launching https://beta.sam.gov to succeed the www.WDOL.gov website for wage determination data under the Davis-Bacon Act, plus Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) guidelines. Features of the new site include:
Read MoreAssociations poised for authoritative role in apprenticeship programs
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor; CP staff
A Labor Department Notice of Proposed Rulemaking calls for empowering agency staff to advance development of industry-recognized apprenticeship programs (IRAP), and trade associations or other not-for-profit organizations to function as Standards Recognition Entities (SRE) overseeing IRAP training, structure, and curricula in relevant industries or occupational areas.
Read MoreBuilding, flatwork contractor’s tab nears $60K for H-2B, FLSA violations
Source: U.S. Department of Labor; CP staff
In the wake of a Labor Department Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Loveland, Colo.-based building and flatwork contractor Coloscapes Concrete Inc. has paid $21,750 in back wages and $31,496 in civil penalties to settle H-2B non-immigrant visa program violations, plus $6,454 to resolve Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime and recordkeeping violations.
Read MoreFederal agencies, industry officials sketch Apprenticeship Expansion roadmap
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor; CP staff
The 20-member Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, representing business, labor, trade and industry groups, plus educational institutions and public agencies, offers actions and policy recommendations in a report presented to President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Read MoreLabor Department organizes Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion
Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta has appointed Associated Builders & Contractors President Mike Bellaman to the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, stemming from an executive order President Donald Trump issued earlier this year with an eye to strengthening the U.S. labor force.
Read MoreLabor, Transportation Departments sustain regulation roll back
Associated Builders & Contractors Government Affairs staff has assessed the Trump Administration’s recently released 2017 regulatory agenda, noting the prospect for significant relief from rules or measures the Department of Labor and Environmental Protection Agency adopted under President Barack Obama.
Read MoreCourt finishes job of invalidating Obama Labor Department’s overtime rule
Sources: National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Silver Spring, Md.; Associated Builders & Contractors, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has issued a permanent injunction of an Obama Administration-revised overtime pay rule, capping a preliminary injunction it issued late last year. The May 2016 rule attempted to change federal exemptions for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act by doubling the white-collar worker minimum salary level exemption from $23,660 to $47,475 annually.
Read MoreAgencies set October target for federal contractor ‘blacklisting’ rule
To ensure federal contractors better comply with laws that protect their workers’ safety, wages and civil rights, the U.S. Department of Labor and Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council have issued final regulations and guidance implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, a contentious measure top construction officials dub the “blacklisting rule.” Phased implementation begins this month and continues through October 2017.
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