Thursday, October 24, 2024

Where the 2024 Presidential Candidates Stand on Construction’s Top Issues As the 2024 presidential election nears, the platforms of the major parties’ candidates have emerged — and there’s no shortage of policy stances that affect construction execs. Following is a look at where former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — and, in some cases, their respective running mates, Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — stand on issues impacting construction. Story

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A Labor Dispute Inside the Department of Labor? Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su—whom Politico dubs “the union whisperer” has been accused of “bad faith” by her staff’s union within the U.S. DOL. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents 7,500 Department of Labor employees through its National Council of Field Labor Locals (NCFLL), is “calling on the department to stop bad faith delay tactics and negotiate employee telework proposals in good faith.” Story

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California Coastal Commission’s Political Retribution Against Elon Musk I’ll admit that while I admire Musk’s apparent genius ability to build stuff that others can’t, he sometimes seems a little mercurial. That said, even GGN sided with Musk in a recent action at CCC. The Pacific Legal Foundation covers the story.

“On Tuesday, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk filed a federal lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission. The past week has been a mix of successes and setbacks for Musk, who celebrated the victorious test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on Sunday, just days after the California Coastal Commission put the kibosh on plans to launch more rockets from the California coast. His lawsuit is challenging this decision and asks the court to bar the CCC from regulating the program.

The Falcon 9 rocket launch program has been enthusiastically supported by both the Air Force and Space Force, both of which assured the CCC that their respective organizations would closely monitor the impacts the rocket launches may have on nearby wildlife. The CCC’s official duties include overseeing ‘plans and regulates the use of land and water in the coastal zone.’ However, by their own admission, the decision to reject the Falcon 9 program appears to be less about wildlife concerns and more about Musk’s personal political opinions.

Citing a reason for their rejection, Commission Chair Caryl Hart stated, ‘We’re dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race.’” Full story

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If Trump Wins, Will He Fire the NLRB's General Counsel on Day One? Peter List, Editor of Labor Union News, recently opined that “If Donald Trump wins the election, he could fire National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo on day one (Inauguration Day), just as Joe Biden fired Abruzzo’s predecessor Peter Robb on Inauguration Day in 2021. Ironically, if Trump were to win and subsequently fire Abruzzo, Abruzzo’s own legal arguments that the President of the United States can fire NLRB General Counsels may hamstring any arguments to stop her firing. ‘A unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said federal labor law only shields the five members of the board from being removed at will and not the general counsel, who acts as a prosecutor,’ Bloomberg reported last year. Though the US Supreme Court remanded the matter back to the Fifth Circuit for reconsideration in light of the recent end to the Chevron doctrine, the firing was also affirmed by the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit as recently as August. So, presuming the General Counsel’s position is not shielded from being fired “at will” (thanks to GC Abruzzo’s own arguments), the question posed is whether Trump will a) fire GC Abruzzo on day one or b) he will wait or c) not fire her at all. Story and poll

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Who Will Lead DOL? Politico reports, “Julie Su’s status as a non-confirmed agency head means that Republicans are likely to vote down her nomination to lead the Labor Department if Harris wins. Trump could also take the DOL in a pro-business direction should he return to the White House. Here are the potential nominees we’re eyeing depending on if Harris or Trump wins.

If Harris wins: Harris could tap Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) — who declined to run for her seat in 2020 — due to her experience as a former leader at the Service Employee International Union.

Maryland Department of Labor Secretary Portia Wu is another contender. She built her national profile by creating a paid leave system for workers impacted by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Wu also worked in the Obama-era DOL in the Employment and Training Administration.

If Trump wins, he could call on Patrick Pizzella, a pro-business figure previously serving as DOL’s deputy Labor Secretary.

He could also pick Virginia Labor Secretary Bryan Slater, who worked in Trump’s Transportation Department and as a labor liaison in the Bush administration.”

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California Legislative Year-End Review: Preparing Employers for 2025 California’s busy legislative year has come to an end, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing several new laws that will impact Golden State employers. Here, we summarize the laws expected to have the greatest impact on California employers in 2025. Unless otherwise noted below, these new laws take effect January 1, 2025. Story

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Heat Pumps Were Supposed to Help Save the Planet. But They’ve Run into a Bump. Sales of solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles have soared over the last few years — helping to slow global warming and take dangerous pollutants out of the atmosphere.

But one technology critical to fighting climate change is lagging, thanks to high interest rates, rising costs, misinformation and the cycle of home construction. The adoption of heat pumps, one of the primary ways to cut emissions from buildings, has slowed in the United States and stalled in Europe, endangering the switch to clean energy. Story

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“Your Child Was Absent Today.” Do you remember those calls from the attendance office when your son or daughter missed school and the subsequent dinner-time conversation, which usually began with “So, how was school today?” No one calls home when a Legislator misses work, as CalMatters discovered. “Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, a Democrat from Corona who is running for state Senate, missed about two-thirds of her votes this year — 1,647 of 2,510 voting opportunities she had based on her committee assignments and floor sessions. In most cases, the missed votes came from two “excused” absences during busy times of the year — once for a death in her family, and once due to illness after attending the Democratic National Convention in August, according to her staff. Six other legislators missed more than a quarter of their votes this year, most involving excused absences for illness or family matters, according to an analysis of voting data from CalMatters’ Digital Democracy. Story

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California’s Freelance Worker Protection Act Imposes New Requirements for Engaging Independent Contractors Following other states and cities across the nation, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 988, the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA), into law on September 28, 2024. This new law aims to provide greater protections to freelance workers (e.g., “independent contractors”). Codified at California Business & Professions Code Section 18100 et seq., the FWPA imposes requirements on individuals and companies that hire freelance workers for specified “professional services.” Individuals and companies should familiarize themselves with these new obligations, the implications for their businesses, and the potential risks of non-compliance. Learn More

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DOL Issues Guidance on AI and Worker Well-Being Best Practices On October 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published Artificial Intelligence and Worker Well-Being: Principles and Best Practices for Developers and Employers. This document expands upon guidance released in May that focused on eight AI “Principles.” The new guidance now includes “Best Practices” intended to be a roadmap for developers and employers to implement these eight Principles. The DOL envisions that the Principles and Best Practices, in combination, will enable developers and employers “to harness AI technologies for their business while ensuring workers benefit from the new opportunities and are shielded from potential harms." Learn More

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Annual Employment Law Update Cook Brown, LLP invites its clients to join them at their complimentary Annual Employment Law Update. During this session, Cook Brown attorneys will provide an overview of key legislative and regulatory changes, as well as court opinions impacting California employers on a variety of topics, including:

·        PAGA legislative reforms

·        Statutory ban on specific work meetings with your employees

·        Changes to time off for victims of violence  

·        Drivers’ license discrimination protections

·        Intersectionality as a protected class

·        Paid Family Leave updates

·        New indoor heat regulations

·        Update to workplace violence safety requirements

Cook Brown partners will also share their knowledge of the latest litigation trends impacting employers in California and the best practices to keep your workplaces working.

When: November 14, 2024, 9:00 – 10:15 am

Where: Zoom webinar

REGISTER

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SOMAH Public Forum If solar is in your business plan, and you are unfamiliar with Solar On Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH), you may want to participate in the last SOMAH Public Forum for 2024. They’ve reduced the number of forums held each year, so each one is an essential opportunity for you to catch up on program activities and progress — and let your ideas and interests be known. Your feedback is valuable in helping guide SOMAH's future, so register now to join your peers and the program team for this year-end event on October 29, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. PT. Register here.

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WECA Government Relation Voters Guide. The WECA Government Relations Committee released a guide for the November election. It is available here for WECA members. (Log in to your WECA Member Dashboard to access.)