Washington Group International Donates $15,000 to San Diego’s Fire Relief Efforts
By Brad Barnum, Vice President Government Relations (pictured- far right)

Last Tuesday, representatives from Washington Group International spent the day in Los Angeles and San Diego to spread goodwill to the victims of the recent firestorms throughout Southern California.  The company donated $10,000 and $15,000 checks to the American Red Cross for fire relief efforts in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, respectively.  Accepting on behalf of the American Red Cross San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter was Chris Marek, Director, Development and Communications (2^nd from left)

On behalf of AGC San Diego’s 1,400+ members and its Board of Directors, we would like to thank Washington Group International’s Greg Therrien, 3^rd from left (President, Infrastructure) and Mike Roddy,  far left, (Labor Relations Manager).  Your generous contribution will go a long way in helping many of the victims get through these tough times.  Thank you, and thank you Washington Group International!

 

AGC of America Leads the Way for Congress' Approval of Water Resources Legislation  

AGC was successful in working with Congress, which last week voted to override President Bush's veto of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA), which will authorize a $23 billion investment in civil works projects administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  

AGC played a central leadership role in the passage and veto override of the largest civil works bill in the nation's history and recognizes Congress for its willingness to stand up and address the need for investment in the nation's water resources.  Thank you to AGC members who wrote to your Congressional Representatives and to Senators Boxer and Feinstein!   

In order to maintain economic competitiveness and national security, AGC members told Congress that they must be willing to make the necessary investments in critical infrastructure. The seven-year gap in reauthorizing WRDA and the increasing need to invest in the nation's water resources accounts for the $23.2 billion in project authorizations. This figure represents a small down payment toward covering the staggering waterways investment gap.
 
WRDA contains several AGC-backed provisions to improve how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prioritizes projects and how they will be developed in the future. 

 

Meals and Rest Periods…..It’s Time to Review Your Policies and Procedures
By Jim Ryan, AGCSD Executive Vice President 

If your firm employs labor on the jobsite and you are looking for a New Year’s resolution, we suggest reviewing how your firm is handling meal and rest periods for your craft workers. If your firm only does “private” i.e. non-prevailing wage work, don’t skip this article….this applies to all contractors on all projects.

During the administration of Governor Gray Davis, the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) issued Wage Order #16, which established a number of rules that regulated meal and rest periods, as well as a number of other conditions of employment on construction sites.  Since that time, a California Supreme Court Case….Murphy vs Kenneth Cole Construction and a California Court of Appeals Case, Beardon v U.S. Borax, have added and defined your responsibilities. These cases focused on the penalties associated with not complying with meal or rest period requirements. 

AGC of California has recently notified us that a class action complaint has recently been filed against a construction employer in Northern California….probably a result of the decisions in these cases!!!

What are the requirements?

In the Borax case, the Appeals Court invalidated the Meal Period provision of Wage Order #16.  Now that was not good!!! The Court declared that meal periods were subject to Labor Code Section # 512 instead.  Section 512 requires employers to provide a 30-minute meal period within the first 5 hours of work each day and two meal periods if work extends to 10 hours per day.  If the employee works 6 hours or less, the meal period can be waived by mutual consent, and if the employee works 12 hours or less, the second meal period may be waived by mutual consent.

The reason all of this is important, is that Wage Order 16 put a 1-year Statute of Limitations on violations of the meal period provision.  Now that the court has included construction in Labor Code Section 512, the Statute of Limitations extends for 3 years…thus the motivation for the class action lawsuit.

In the Cole Case, the California Supreme Court ruled that the penalties for both meal and rest break violations are “wages” and are both subject to the 3-year Statute of Limitations. Remember, Wage Order #16 requires a 10-minute rest break for each 4 hours worked.  There are exceptions for concrete pours, etc., but in general, you must schedule and make sure the rest breaks are given. (AGCSD can direct you to the Wage Order for additional details) 

The penalty is one additional hour of pay for each violation (maximum one rest period and one meal period penalty per day)…..and now the liability extends for up to the past three years.  So…if you are not giving rest periods and the pay rate is $30 per hour and you work 200 days per year, the penalty could be as much as $600 x 3= $1800 per employee…..and double that if meal periods were not given!!!

Now….we have seen situations in which employees do not complain about lack of rest periods until a layoff occurs or a job ends resulting in a layoff.  We have also seen situations in which the meal period was given but the timing was vague…i.e. “take your meals and rest periods when the job slows down” and the employees are waiting for a shipment, etc.  In these situations the employer usually loses and pays the penalty.

How do you protect your firm from all of this?

Have a written policy concerning meals and rest periods that is in your employee manual, and make sure you distribute it to your employees.  I suggest that you contact your attorney or consultant to write this…to make sure it complies with how you actually operate.

Make sure each and every superintendent complies.  We have seen a number of cases in which the company policy was being ignored by superintendents.

Consult your attorney or consultant for wording that should be included on all time cards that states that the meal and rest periods have been given each day.

Bottom line….do not be too casual about all of this.  The liabilities can be significant!!!

Please contact jryan@agcsd.org or 858- 731-8160 with questions.  We thank the AGC of California for providing information concerning this article.

 

Caltrans San Diego Area Work to Increase

AGC San Diego Vice President Government Relations Brad Barnum, reported to the AGC Board of Directors last Thursday, that the Caltrans work program for the 2007/2008 fiscal year, which started July 1^st, 2007 and concludes June 30^th 2008, will be up significantly from the previous year. 

In the fiscal year that concluded June 30^th,2007, Caltrans District 11 issued 54 projects with a value of $230,589,000.  In the fiscal year beginning July, 1^st, 2007, Caltrans plans on issuing 58 projects with a value of $849,682,000…..just over 3 times the amount of work from the previous year.  The projects range in size from $200,000-$93,000,000….

Remember the TransNet 2 Campaign from 3 years ago…..that was the extension of the ½ cent sales tax that won a 66 2/3% vote in our county by just over 3,000 votes, and remember the Governor’s Infrastructure initiatives from last year that marked several billion dollars for transportation here and throughout the state…..AGC and several other business organizations led the fight for both Transnet 2 and the initiatives……we suspect that the figures noted above would be far different without the passing of these critical infrastructure votes.

So…..when AGC calls to ask you to support the next vote for infrastructure….take the call and help…..it makes a difference!!!!!

 

Airport Capital Improvement Program

And…….still more good infrastructure news….the Airport Authority will issue contracts worth about $90,000,000 during the next 12 months.  Most of these projects are general building projects.  AGC’s Airport Liaison committee chaired by John Wald, Sundt Construction, has been meeting with the staff of the Airport authority to ensure industry input concerning these projects.

To keep up to date on these projects and more, refer to the AGC’s Daily Construction Reporter and the Planning Section.

 

Welcome New AGC Members

The AGC Board of Directors and AGC Staff would like to welcome the following new members to the Association.
Remember…It’s good business to do business with an AGC member.” 

Company                                 Type of Work               Contact            Phone              e-mail

Above All Names Concrete Cons.    Concrete                              Karen Pedregon  909-421-1770      info@aanconstruction.com              
Airgas West, Inc.                                  Safety Equip/Gas/Weld.    Joseph Maier        858-495-2300      joseph.maier@airgas.com
Anton’s Service,Inc.                             Clear & Grubb Demo         Adrian Botter         619-579-9000     admin@antonservice.com
David Kilefner Const. Co.                  Carpentry                              David Kilefner       909-864-2707      dkconstco@adelphia.net
ESUB, Inc.                                             Proj. Mgmt Software           Wendy Swift          858-759-7266      wswift@esubinc.com
Godwin Pumps of Amer., Inc.           Equip. Sales/Rentals         Nate Warren         951-681-3636      labranch@godwinpumps.com
Jay Brown Construction                     Carpentry                              Jay Brown             909-519-6840      jbconstruction@adelphia.net
Millennium Fire Protection Corp.      Fire Protection                    John Forsyth         760-722-2722      jforsyth@mfpc.us
Network Cabling, Inc.                         Data Centers                       John Filbig            760-743-1900      jfilbig@networkcabling.com
Tile Tech Installers, Inc.                     Marble.Tile                           Joe Avila                760-722-7080      tile_tech@cox.net

AGC Annual Meeting- December 13, 2007

Mark your Calendars.  All AGC members are invited to attend the December 13^th, 2007 Annual Meeting which will be held at the Hilton San Diego Resort on Mission Bay, 1775 East Mission Bay Drive beginning at 11:00 am. 

A lunch will be served, followed by the election of new Board members and the Executive Vice President’s Annual Report to the membership, which will detail AGC activities and finances.

For more information and cost, contact Rae Krushensky at 858-731-8157. Registration will be coming soon.

 

It’s Ski Season - AGC Winter Conference- Save the Date- February 7-10, 2008

 

The 2008 AGC Winter Conference will be held at The Canyons Resort  in Park City, Utah.  Registration will be coming soon. To check out their website, go to CLICK HERE. Silverado, a luxurious retreat, masterfully designed for the most discriminating of tastes.  This Park City gem offers timeless elegance and quality amenities in a premium location near The Canyons Resort Village.

Any questions, please contact Rae Krushensky at 858-731-8157. 

 

Calendar of Upcoming AGC Safety and Education Classes

Please note: 
***** Please register on line for classes ******
Go to our website at www.agcsd.org and click onto Calendar for either
Construction Education Classes or Safety Training.

“AGC Education & Training….Building a Solid Foundation”

NOVEMBER
CPR/First Aid- Nov 28 – Click here for flyer / Click here to register 

Construction Education Training Classes
NOVEMBER
Project Mgmt Course-  Nov. 13
PowerPoint – Nov 20- Click here for flyer/ Click to register
AGC CLOSED- November 22 and 23 for Thanksgiving Holiday
Project Mgmt. Course – Nov 27
Blueprint 102- Nov 28- Click here to register