workforce from participating in green jobs.  “ABC member companies have been at the forefront of green construction since before this terminology came into use,” the letter stated. “However, we are greatly concerned with recent statutory language which would prohibit over 84 percent of the construction industry from accessing federal dollars to train construction workers in green fields of works and strongly urge you to maintain open access to these important funds.”

 "ABC chapters and member companies are actively engaged in training workers in a wide variety of skilled occupations and are constantly striving to keep pace with technology and innovation in order to make certain America has the skilled workforce it deserves, and that all American workers, regardless of union affiliation, enjoy equal-opportunity access to critical job training,” ABC stated. “Given the desire to see a continued increase in the use of green building and green technology, it seems that limiting the ability to participate in green training to such a small percentage of the construction industry would make this growth difficult.”

PRIVATE NONRESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION SEES SLIGHT UPTICK: Construction spending in the private nonresidential sector rose 0.3 percent in February, according to the April 1 report by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a year-over-year basis, private nonresidential construction spending is down 0.2 percent. However, total nonresidential construction spending increased 0.5 percent on the month to $684.9 million from the revised January figure of $681.5 million. All in all, total nonresidential construction spending is up 1.3 percent from February 2008.  “The private nonresidential construction spending data for February were somewhat encouraging,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “The slight uptick in activity ended a four-month long losing streak during which private nonresidential construction spending had been in decline

 EMPIRE STATE CHAPTER CHALLENGES WICKS LAW IN NEW YORK:ABC’s Empire State chapter March 31 joined with business and political leaders to file a lawsuit asking that amendments made in 2008 to New York State’s Wicks Law be declared unconstitutional.  The Wicks Law has been in existence since 1912 and, as amended in 2008, now requires all contractors bidding on projects over a threshold amount have an apprenticeship program in place for at least three years.  In addition, the 2008 changes alter the dollar amount that triggers the law so that it applies to projects worth more than $500,000 in upstate New York, but only applies to projects worth more than $3 million in New York City.  “This law has forced almost $9 billion in additional costs on New York taxpayers over just the past 30 years and increases the possibility of corruption and racketeering in the construction industry,” said Meinking.  “Now, as amended, it excludes virtually all minority and women owned businesses from all significant public works projects.”

 ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION UPDATE:Recently, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff said that over the past year DHS has “turned the tide” on illegal immigration.  Chertoff stated that the modifications have come about through increased worksite enforcement and a variety of other measures.  Chertoff pointed to a Pew Hispanic Center report in October, 2008, which found no net increase in illegal immigration for the first time since 2001.  Chertoff noted that some of the result was due to the economy but noted that the Pew report found that for the first time in many years illegal immigration has dropped below legal immigration which means that not only the economy is part of the answer.  Chertoff noted that even though comprehensive immigration reform legislation was not enacted into law, ICE dramatically increased penalties against employers in violation of the law and sought not only fines but also jail time for offending employers.  During 2008, ICE agents made more than 1,100 criminal arrests and more than 5,180 administrative arrests during worksite enforcement actions which is an increase of 27% over 2007.  Also in 2008, DHS saw an increase in the use of E-Verify, the voluntary electronic employment verification program, by more than 45,000 new employers bringing the total employers using E-Verify to 96,000.  During 2008, employers utilizing the E-Verify program verified the work eligibility of more than 6.6 million workers.  Nebraska employers and employers throughout the country should expect continued attention to illegal immigration issues during 2009.  Since it is likely that DHS and ICE will continue to utilize criminal fines and imprisonment as part of the enforcement action, all employers should be careful to comply with their IRCA obligations with special attention to Form I-9 documentation.                                                                              By Bill Harding, Chapter Attorney

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you have questions on SALTING and bannering cases?  The following is a seminar that

will answer your questions.

Labor & Employment Laws Seminar

Law and Regulation Updates

Thursday, April 16, 2009

1:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Quarry Oaks – Ashland, NE

Questions, please call Charlie Volnek at the State Chamber, 402-474-4422 or email cvolnek@nechamber.com