News

What you Need to Know About Families First Coronavirus Response Act- Emergency Sick Leave and Emergency FMLA-20200416 1700-1

Good Morning AGC members,

Our friends at AmeriBen have been providing advice to their Human Resource Consulting clients during this ongoing pandemic. They prepared this webinar for their clients and are kindly making it available to others at no charge during this very unusual time.     Click the button below to follow the link to the recording.

What you Need to Know About Families First Coronavirus Response Act- Emergency Sick Leave and Emergency FMLA-20200416 1700-1

Beige Book, starts data, airport consultants survey point to plunge in new construction

Evidence is mounting rapidly as to the damage from the pandemic to the economy and construction. “Economic activity contracted sharply and abruptly across all regions in the United States as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Federal Reserve reported on Wednesday in the latest “Beige Book,” a summary of informal surveys of businesses in the 12 Fed districts from late February to April 5. (Districts are referenced by the names of their headquarters cities.) Comments relevant to construction included the following. Boston: “steep declines in [commercial] construction activity.” New York: “Businesses in construction…noted declines in their selling prices…New construction starts have essentially fallen to zero, and ongoing construction projects have paused, except where considered essential.” Philadelphia: “Philadelphia's commercial real estate construction fell 70% by the end of March—some contractors have no projects.

Battelle Engery Alliance Seeks Expression of Interest From Industry Stakeholders

Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), the managing and operating contractor for the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho, is seeking an Expression of Interest (EOI) from industry stakeholders interested in forming a partnership to develop and/or demonstrate advanced construction technologies and processes that would be transformative in nuclear energy system project economics and schedule success. This effort would be executed as an initiative of the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC). The scope of such a Partnership could include, but not be limited to, the development and/or demonstration of advanced construction technologies and processes that would substantially reduce the cost and schedule risk of new nuclear plant construction as well as long-term economics of nuclear deployment on a global scale.

Construction Firms Are Protecting Their Workers and the Public: AGC Launches New Site

AGC of America has launched a new website to communicate how the construction industry is keeping its workers safe during the pandemic.  workingsafe.agc.org not only informs the public about how uniquely suited the industry is to working with sophisticated and ever-changing safety plans in place, it also provides resources to the industry itself, including Marrillia Protocols for COVID-19 exposure, COVID-19 Recommended Practices, and a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan.  Visit the site by clicking the button below.

workingsafe.agc.org

AGC Survey Conducted This Week Suggests Industry’s Job Losses are Spreading Rapidly; Officials Call for Additional Federal Measures to Help Avoid Further Layoffs and Economic Pain

Association Survey Conducted This Week Suggests Industry’s Job Losses are Spreading Rapidly; Officials Call for Additional Federal Measures to Help Avoid Further Layoffs and Economic Pain

The fast-worsening covid-19 pandemic has triggered layoffs at more than a quarter of construction firms responding to an online survey released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. The finding, based on responses from earlier this week, contrasts with the government’s monthly employment report for March, which found that construction employment declined by 29,000 as of mid-March.