(From a release from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.) In response to public requests, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is extending the comment period on revising the recordkeeping and reporting requirements for work-related injuries and illnesses. Anyone interested in submitting comments has until Oct. 28, 2011, to do ...

(A release from Associated Builders and Contractors.) Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) 2011 National Chairman Michael J. Uremovich, president of Great Lakes Energy Consultants, LLC, Manhattan, Ill., says President Obama’s jobs plan “won’t pass inspection” with the construction industry when it comes to creating jobs and getting Americans back to work. “We ...

Here is an overview of the jobs program, including elements directly affecting the construction industry, being proposed by President Obama, as laid out in a release from the White House press office: THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT 1. Tax Cuts to Help America’s Small Businesses Hire and Grow Cutting the payroll tax in half ...

Even as Congress awaits job-creation legislation from President Barack Obama, lawmakers have yet to reauthorize or extend federal funding for surface transportation projects. Failure to do so by Sept.30, when the current measure expires, could put nearly a million jobs at risk across the United States. Also pending is action by ...

Construction materials prices are 8.9 percent higher than they were one year ago, according to the Aug. 17 Producer Price Index (PPI) report by the Department of Labor. Prices rose a modest 0.3 percent in July. Two segments of construction inputs were associated with particularly large changes in prices for the ...

According to transportationissuesdaily.com, Chairperson Barbara Boxer intends to have the Senate's Environment & Public Works Committee take up a four-month extension of SAFETEA-LU as well as a full two-year, bi-partisan transportation bill on Sept. 8. The Web site reports that Boxer will support a "clean" extension — meaning there would be ...

(From greenbuildinglawupdate.com.) The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed a lawsuit against the US Green Building Council (USGBC). Henry Gifford originally filed a class action lawsuit for $100 million dollars based on alleged false advertising by the USGBC. The lawsuit was later amended to cover only four ...

(A release from the Associated General Contractors of America.) Construction employment increased in 26 states between July 2010 and July 2011, as well as during the past month, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of state employment data released by the Labor Department. The relatively even split ...

According to a report by bloomberg.com, Grover Norquist, an anti-tax crusader and president of Americans for Tax Reform, won't oppose an extension of U.S. gasoline and diesel-fuel taxes that are scheduled to expire Sept. 30. Norquist said that an extension with no changes wouldn't violate a pledge signed by many Congressional lawmakers ...

As part of continuing educational efforts by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration about the dangers of extreme heat, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis has announced the release of a free application for mobile devices that will enable workers and supervisors to monitor the heat ...

The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in response to the decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw proposed numeric limits on the amount of dirt the agency will allow in stormwater from construction sites: "The fact ...

(From a release from the U.S. Department of Transportation.) U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced $417.3 million in grants to fund a range of projects ranging from interstate maintenance to research into innovative bridge materials and construction methods. "Transportation investments like these will create jobs, increase mobility, improve quality of life ...