The Builders Scholarship Foundation is accepting applications through October 31 for the 2015-16 Builders Scholarship Foundation scholarship cycle. College sophomores and juniors studying construction management, civil/environmental, or mechanical engineering and meeting geographical criteria are encouraged to apply for this $4,000/year renewable scholarship opportunity.

There are more disputes than solutions in Springfield right now and the political climate would dictate that we need to be more vigilant than ever. The Builders Association Board of Directors along with our Government Relations Committee agree that the time has come to take our political action, representing our members and the commercial construction industry, to a new level. Our businesses are at stake.

As a nation, we deserve a better health care system, one that delivers quality care at an affordable cost.

AGC of America and Willis have partnered with Aetna, one of the nation's largest health care providers, to bring AGC member firms the AGC Alternative, a new, dynamic and cost-effective way for AGC member firms to provide better choices in quality health insurance and other employee benefits.

Fisher & Phillips is offering a free 20-minute webinar on Thursday to assist those employers who must file EEO-1 and VETS-4212 reports before the September 30 deadline.

Safety professionals should plan on joining industry peers over breakfast October 1st to learn more about the aspects of a company’s safety program that make it exceptional. The importance of benchmarking, "top down" commitment, active employee participation, leading indicators, and critical safe behaviors will be discussed.

Our members have probably seen different articles and e-mails referring to our newly created Construction Leadership Council (CLC). It is geared toward the up-and-coming construction industry professionals to provide educational programming, networking, and leadership development. It has made great strides since its first program in January, with more than 125 individuals on the roster.

As an AGC member you have many opportunities to network with your colleagues from around the country and obtain knowledge and new ideas that benefit your career and your company. One such event is the "BuildCon" program that will be held October 7-9 in San Diego this year. This conference specifically focuses on the Building Division members – which is the main core of the Builders Association roster. We encourage you to send key staff to this informative conference.

The American Heart Association is doing great things to assist the construction industry. One such event is this month's inaugural "Hard Hats with Heart" benefit on September 10 at Soldier Field. The event's Co-Chairs are members Timothy Cooper of Pepper Construction and James B. Hill, II, of The Hill Group.

AGC’s Construction HR and Training Professionals Conference provides two days of education and networking for HR, training, and workforce development professionals in the construction industry. Educational sessions for training professionals cover the most cutting-edge techniques in training and development currently in use and envisioned for the future in the industry. The HR sessions help HR professionals in the industry remain up to date and compliant with employment laws and best practices. Some sessions interest both HR and training professionals alike.

Between July 2014 and July 2015, construction employment expanded in 37 states and the District of Columbia. However only 28 states added jobs between June and July. "Construction continues to grow overall but fewer states are participating in the expansion than was true a year ago," said Ken Simonson, the chief economist for the AGC.

California and Arkansas added the most jobs over the year while Ohio and West Virginia had the biggest annual decline. Illinois saw a 4.6% gain over the year producing 9,200 new jobs. AGC officials acknowledged that the construction industry appears caught between divergent economic trends that help employment in some areas and hurt it in other areas.

On June 30, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) announcing proposed changes to the overtime regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The proposal is the result of a 2014 directive from President Obama requiring the Secretary of Labor to modernize and streamline the existing overtime regulations. The NPRM was officially published in the Federal Register on July 6.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a disappointing but anticipated decision last Thursday that relaxes the standard for determining when two companies constitute "joint employers" under the National Labor Relations Act.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on August 6 issued an updated Form 1095-C and instructions following a June 9 letter from AGC of America and the Food Marketing Institute urging the agency to make the revisions. Form 1095-C is one of the forms used by employers to report information regarding the cost and level of health coverage offered to employees under the employer mandate provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The form allows the IRS to verify whether an employer is subject to penalties under the employer mandate provisions of the ACA.

AGC has finalized the renewal process for those individuals who have earned the CM-BIM credential (almost 600 nationwide). The renewal process is meant to ensure that these BIM specialists who hold the CM-BIM credential will continue to keep current with the latest concepts and advancements in BIM.

The Builders Education & Training Foundation presents Unit 7 of the Lean Construction Education Program on October 15th. A few seats remain!

We are excited to announce the expansion of AGC of America's fuel card program through Fleetcor, AGC's BP Program manager. The new BuilderPro Universal Premium FleetCard is specifically designed to help our members save money on fuel and building supply purchases and can be used at more than 160,000 locations around the country (not just BP stations) with savings of up to $0.06 per gallon ($0.015 per gallon on diesel).

The AGC offers its members valuable resources on a wide variety of topics and specialties through its many Forums and Committees. One of the newest ones is the Business Development Forum. The BD Steering Committee continues to bring more business development resources and best practices to the AGC membership through its new webpage.