Offsite, Modular, and , Prefabricated Construction

It is said that prefabrication will be an accelerating trend this upcoming year.Offsite, modular, or prefabricated construction has become a popular method of structure construction offering benefits such as reduced construction time, less waste and possible financial cost reduction. Companies have turned to ‘prefab’ as an option that offers more certainty while they struggle with […]

Plague to the Construction Industry

The construction industry is in need of workers from all backgrounds to fill in, but most importantly: it needs experienced, skilled workers.  During the economic recession, almost 2 million workers were laid off. Now that the economy is improving, the construction industry needs those skilled workers back. However, those experienced workers have either already found […]

False Allegations on Project Labor Agreements

The San Diego Union-Tribune posted an article on July 28, 2015 by columnist Steven Greenhut arguing that Project Labor Agreements would increase the cost of school construction in California. Along with his article, Greenhut listed several questionable sources including a study done by The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). This group is anti-union and paid for the study […]

Why Repealing Prevailing Wage Laws Costs States More Money

Wisconsin recently proposed repealing its prevailing wage law in hopes to save money. In reality this measure will cost the state nearly 9,000 jobs, $1.2 billion in revenue, $77 million in tax revenue, and will export around $500 million in construction investments out of state according to a study done by Smart Cities Prevail and Colorado State University. The data in this study […]

New Prevailing Wage Laws Passed in Massachusetts

Some construction workers know what its like to go for weeks without pay, to be paid less than promised, and to not receive overtime pay when they work it. They are hired strategically as independent contractors by bad actors looking to save on job costs. This wage theft has become an epidemic across the residential construction […]

What Do Pot Holes and Ice Cream Have in Common?

They both make us scream! That is why Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream of Shelby, Michigan has created a brand new “Michigan Pot Hole”  flavor.  This flavor features “thick, black-tar fudge in chocolate ice cream with chunks of chocolate asphalt,” a very creative take on the classic Rocky-Road flavor. However, Michigan Pot Hole is not just your everyday sweet tooth satisfying, hot […]

U.S. Now Divided 25 to 25 After Wisconsin Passes Right-To-Work Bill

With Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signing the Right-To-Work bill into law, the country is now officially split in half over the 1947 Taft-Hartley amendments to the National Labor Relations Act. The last time a Right-to-Work Bill was passed was in 2012 in both Indiana and Michigan, but other states are in talks of passing similar bills. […]

$305,000 Later A Firm Learned A Valuable Lesson

How and when should overtime wages be paid? If you cannot answer this question you may be in trouble. It is a lack of knowledge on that very subject that has M.H. Electric paying more than $305k in back wages from at least 10 federally funded construction projects awarded in Hawaii from 2012 to 2014 […]

39 Employees + Misclassification = $87,239 in Back Wages

Prevailing wage has been set into place in many states to ensure that workers are receiving the amount due to them for the scope of work they are performing. The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts assure fairness in bidding and promote economic growth by supporting the middle class which then returns their profits back to the […]

DOL Drops Anchor to Create Ripple Effect in Labor Compliance for 2015

The Department of Labor is stationed and ready to battle companies who skirt labor laws whether intentionally or by accident. David Weil, administrator of the Wage and Hour division of the Department of Labor Blog explained how they plan on “taking strategic enforcement to the next level.” The strategy is simple, to “create ripple effects […]