Among professional construction contractors who rented equipment in the past year, a majority expects to increase reliance on rental in the year ahead, according to a comprehensive survey of contractors released by the American Rental Association (ARA). Details here.
Brickworks Property Restoration will pay $130,788 in back wages to 58 employees after the United States Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime and record-keeping provisions.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission has approved the Keystone XL Pipeline route through the state—one of three proposed routes included in the application filed by TransCanada. Details about the decision and the pipeline here.
Why the industry needs to think creatively & leverage new benefits to overcome the labor shortage
The SOGR Program provides funding to repair, replace or rehabilitate publicly or Amtrak owned or controlled railroad equipment, infrastructure and facilities. The SOGR Program is intended to improve intercity passenger rail performance. Eligible projects include upgrading infrastructure, such as track, switches, bridges and highway-rail grade crossings; stations; and equipment, including passenger cars.
The Department of Energy aims to use quantum dots and other novel technologies, advancing bioenergy research through an effort to reengineer plants and microbes for bioenergy conversion and production.
July new business volume up 15% year-over-year, down 5% month-over-month and up 3 percent year-to-date. Details here.
American Wood Council (AWC) President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Glowinski issued the following statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release of the Plywood and Composite Wood Products (PCWP) Risk and Technology Review (RTR) proposal:
At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $849.6 billion, new construction starts in July advanced 2% from the previous month, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. This marked the third consecutive monthly increase for total construction starts, following gains of 10% in May and 9% in June. Details here.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has announced the award of a design-build contract to start construction on the I-405, Renton to Bellevue Widening and Express Toll Lanes project. More information here.