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The Medical Loss Ratio Provision of the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s 2010 health care reform law, is now in effect.  As a result, many companies are starting to receive rebate checks from insurance companies, leaving HR professionals to determine the best way to distribute the funds to eligible employees.  The rule went into effect Jan. 1, 2011.

Registration is now open for �鶹��Ƶ’s 2012 HR Professionals Conference and Training, Education & Development (TED) Conference where attendees can earn up to 25.25 recertification credits toward PHR or SPHR recertification from the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI).

Prime contractors and higher tier subcontractors are often financially responsible for what subcontractors are or aren’t doing when it comes to regulatory compliance.  On July 19, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. ET, �鶹��Ƶ will hold a webinar entitled “Getting Subcontractors On Board: Why and How to Train Your Subcontractors to Meet Flowdown Requirements” to help contractors meet those responsibilities.  The webinar is the second in a series of compliance webinars designed to help government contractors meet compliance requirements.

On June 29, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s healthcare reform law that went into effect in 2010.  As a result, the law will remain in effect unless future legislation revokes any of the law’s provisions.  Among other things the law requires employers with 50 or more workers to offer a qualified health insurance plan to employees by 2014 or possibly face a penalty.  �鶹��Ƶ did not support the law because of its inability to decrease the overall costs of healthcare.

Collective bargaining settlements reported to the Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) between January and June of this year resulted in an average first-year wage-and-benefits increase of $1.15 or 2.3 percent.  This average is higher than the $0.98 or 1.9 percent average reported at the same time last year and the $0.55 or 1.1 percent average reported two years ago.  The number of settlements that included no increase in first-year wages and benefits remained steady from last year, according to CLRC’s latest Wage and Benefit Settlements Report, and was considerably fewer than the number reported in 2010.

Federal Construction HR Workshop Back by Popular Demand October 15-18 – San Antonio, Texas Registration is now open for �鶹��Ƶ’s 2012 HR Professionals Conference and Training, Education & Development (TED) Conference.   For 2012, the conferences will be co-located in San Antonio, with the TED Conference beginning on the morning of Monday, Oct. 15, lasting to midday on Oct. 16, and the HR Professionals Conference beginning on the morning of Oct. 16, and concluding at noon on Oct. 17. There will be one joint session on the morning of Oct.16, with a keynote by Joe Gerstandt on Putting Authenticity, Integrity and Daring to Work.

On June 7, the Governing Board of Presidents of the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) unanimously elected Brent Booker to be its secretary-treasurer.  Booker succeeds Sean McGarvey, who was elected BCTC president on April 16, 2012, following the untimely death of Mark Ayers. 

Administration officials significantly underestimated the cost to construction employers of proposed new hiring quotas for federal contractors according to a new analysis released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. According to the analysis, a proposed new hiring quota for the disabled would cost employers 30 times more than officials predict while a new hiring quota for veterans would cost employers 20 times more than originally estimated.

Today, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a markup on the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012, which would help reform the nation’s job training system by strengthening employer engagement in state and local workforce decisions, as well as by giving states and localities more flexibility. �鶹��Ƶ sent a letter to the committee outlining �鶹��Ƶ’s support for a strong and skilled workforce.

On May 29, 2012, �鶹��Ƶ submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Citizenship and Immigration Services division (USCIS) regarding proposed changes to Form I-9, the Employment Eligibility Verification Form.  Employers must complete Form I-9 to document that they have verified the identity and employment authorization of each new employee hired after Nov. 6, 1986.  The form must be completed for both citizens and non-citizens.