Labor/Safety

  • workers toil on a hot construction site with the orange sun in the background
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    SonerCdem via Getty Images
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    OSHA proposes rule to protect workers from extreme heat

    Released this morning, the standard would require employers to provide water and rest breaks when high heat creates a hazardous work environment.

    By • July 2, 2024
  • Loper decision ending Chevron deference doctrine
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    Anna Moneymaker / Staff via Getty Images
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    Supreme Court deals big blow to federal agencies

    In a landmark ruling, the justices overturned a 40-year-old precedent and significantly reduced the power of federal agencies to interpret the laws they administer.

    By David Weisenfeld • July 1, 2024
  • Construction site Explore the Trendline➔
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    sandsun via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Top 5 stories from Construction Dive

    Construction Dive editors curate some of the industry’s top stories from this year.

    By Construction Dive staff
  • Women inspector at work
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    Permission granted by Malta Dynamics
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    Sponsored by Malta Dynamics

    Annual fall protection inspection requirements

    Fall protection equipment is vital for protecting individuals working at heights. To ensure the equipment works efficiently and is in excellent condition, you must have your fall protection equipment inspected annually.

    July 1, 2024
  • The U.S. Supreme Court building's facade with flowers blurred in the foreground.
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    Andrew Harnik via Getty Images
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    SCOTUS overturns Chevron doctrine, limiting federal agency reach

    Federal courts will no longer have to defer to agency regulations for interpretation of ambiguous statutes.

    By Ryan Golden , Ginger Christ • June 28, 2024
  • Close up shiny wooden law gavel in dark brown color on top of a wooden table in an office.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    Texas judge puts hold on prevailing wage rule

    Nine months after a Davis-Bacon update raised pay for workers on federal projects, a judge has halted the change.

    By • June 27, 2024
  • Deere and Co.
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    Permission granted by Deere and Co.
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    Deere to pay $1.1M over racial discrimination allegations

    The company was cited for allegedly discriminating against 277 Black and Hispanic job applicants at facilities in Illinois and Iowa.

    By Kate Magill • June 27, 2024
  • Four people stand around a table with a hard hat and construction drawings.
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    Permission granted by Tommy Whitehead
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    Q&A

    Florida contractor brings Pride to construction

    TomCo Solutions founder and LGBTQ+ advocate Tommy Whitehead is working to make the building industry more welcoming to all.

    By • June 27, 2024
  • New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin speaks at a lectern.
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    Courtesy of Office of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin
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    Racism in Construction

    New Jersey attorney general sues Iron Workers’ chapter for discrimination

    Bloomfield-based Local 11 skipped over Black workers for jobs in favor of White members and promoted a hostile work environment toward women, a lawsuit claims.

    By • Updated June 27, 2024
  • A photo of construction workers walking around a jobsite at a tall, stone building during a bright, blue-skyed day. There are lines of tape separating walkways.
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    Portland Public Schools. (2024). "IMG_7570" [Photograph]. Retrieved from Flickr.
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    Family of worker crushed by forklift sues Oregon contractor

    The estate of deceased ironworker Samantha Deschenes claimed that Portland, Oregon-based Andersen Construction violated the state’s Safe Employment Act in a lawsuit filed June 10.

    By • Updated June 27, 2024
  • Aerial view of a rail line cutting through forest and farmland.
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    Courtesy of Dragados
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    Executive Moves

    Flatiron names new CEO

    The Broomfield, Colorado-based civil construction company tapped its president, Javier Sevilla Roca, for the role.

    By • June 24, 2024
  • A worker in a hard hat and vest smiles as they work.
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    Permission granted by ACI
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    Column // Help Wanted

    New York nonprofit develops hundreds of trade careers annually

    The Andromeda Community Initiative helps train, place and develop careers for underrepresented groups, especially communities of color, in New York City.

    By • Updated June 21, 2024
  • A stock photo shows two construction workers having a difficult conversation.
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    kali9/E+ via Getty Images
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    CONSTRUCTION DIVE EXCLUSIVE

    EEOC releases anti-harassment guide for contractors

    The federal agency wants to empower the industry to make the jobsite safer for all workers, Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels told Construction Dive.

    By • June 18, 2024
  • New York City skyline with urban skyscrapers at sunset
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    ventdusud via Getty Images
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    Executive Moves

    Former Lendlease exec joins NYC advisory firm

    The Australian contractor’s operations director in the Big Apple, Scott Weisberg, is moving to PML.

    By • June 18, 2024
  • Worley Dave Patrick with collegues.
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    Permission granted by NCCER
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    Sponsored by NCCER

    Contractors: Focus on the skills gap, not the people shortage, for immediate impact

    Online training solutions will play an important role in helping contractors develop teams for peak performance. 

    June 17, 2024
  • A group of people on strike pose with protest signs.
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    Courtesy of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139
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    Strikes in Wisconsin, Seattle snarl jobsites

    As construction workers walk off the job for better pay this summer, unions are in a strong position to demand higher wages, according to a labor expert.

    By • June 13, 2024
  • Chicago skyline with high rises
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    Tim Boyle via Getty Images
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    Worker sues Turner, subcontractor after deadly Chicago fall

    Ironworker Jeffrey Spyrka survived after plunging eight stories from a scaffold last week. His coworker, technical engineer David O’Donnell, was pronounced dead at the scene.

    By • June 13, 2024
  • Two construction colleagues teaming up
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    Manit Plangklang/Shutterstock.com

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    Sponsored by Sensera Systems

    Keeping workers safe and preventing fraudulent claims

    Learn how proactive safety measures, advanced technology and remote monitoring systems can create a safer, more transparent work environment for everyone involved.

    June 10, 2024
  • Deira Ward (L) and Lisa Bates (R) work at a computer near a large PCR analysis machine at a Quest Diagnostics testing lab in Indianapolis, Indiana. The lab is capable of processing up to 3700 tests pe
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    Jon Cherry via Getty Images
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    Drug test cheating soared last year, analysis shows

    Although the positive drug test rate dropped slightly for safety-sensitive roles, workers in these roles also had a marked increase in cheating attempts, Quest Diagnostics found.

    By Emilie Shumway • June 6, 2024
  • A shot of three construction workers mid sections.
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive // Heat Safety

    The heat is on. Contractors say they’re ready.

    Commercial construction firms aren't waiting on OSHA's much-anticipated heat standard to protect their workers.

    By • June 6, 2024
  • Construction workers listen to a mental health huddle discussion on an XL Construction jobsite.
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    Courtesy of XL Construction
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    Opinion

    Safety pro gets personal about construction’s mental health challenges

    While the industry’s suicide and substance abuse rates are some of the highest, the issue doesn’t get enough attention, an XL Construction exec writes.

    By Mike Popp • June 6, 2024
  • A project engineer talks to a computer operator who points to screens showing AI and machine learning enhanced tools.
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    gorodenkoff/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
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    Tech can help construction’s labor crisis: McKinsey

    The consulting firm argued that more aggressive solutions are needed to address the staffing gap, such as lucrative pay packages and technology that helps with repetitive tasks.

    By • June 5, 2024
  • Workers in yellow vests and hard hats pouring concrete on a construction site.
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    Avalon_Studio via Getty Images
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    Economic Reports

    Construction’s labor shortage continues, despite dip in open jobs

    Economists say the drop is likely among home builders, which means commercial contractors are still short on workers.

    By • June 5, 2024
  • A group of people holding signs written in Spanish march through a street.
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    Permission granted by WeCount!
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    Heat Safety

    Florida construction workers say they’re denied water, rest, shade

    With a state law restricting local governments from mandating heat safety on the horizon, immigrant laborers say bosses refuse their calls for relief.

    By • May 30, 2024
  • A group of people stand around a jobsite having a conversation.
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    Retrieved from Associated General Contractors of America on May 29, 2024
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    Majority of surveyed contractors experienced crashes on highway jobsites

    Road builders believe a greater police presence and stricter work zone speeding enforcement are key to decreasing collisions.

    By • May 29, 2024
  • A construction worker atop a steel beam drinks from a bottle of water.
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    Brian Snyder/Reuters

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    Deep Dive // Heat Safety

    Heat-related laws in Texas, Florida, Phoenix to be put to the test

    As summer begins, some states prevent cities from mandating water breaks. Still, there are commonsense practices to protect workers from soaring temperatures.

    By • May 23, 2024