Last Day to Register!
Wednesday, August 19th at 3:30 PM
In This Issue:
  • Court Ruling Regarding FFCRA
  • Custom Training Classes
  • CTCNYS Fall 2020 Apprenticeship Classes Registration Open
  • Register for Core Classes
  • Stimulus 4 On Hold
  • President Trump Signs Executive Orders
  • Empire Chapter Resources
Court Ruling Regarding FFCRA
On August 3, 2020, in response to a legal challenge by the state of New York, a New York federal district judge struck down portions of a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) final rule providing guidance on interpretations of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

Specifically, the court struck down:
  • the rule’s “work availability” requirement
  • the “health care provider” definition
  • the employer consent requirement for intermittent leave
  • the documentation requirement prior to taking FFCRA leave

FFCRA requires private-sector employers with fewer than 500 employees, and certain public employers, to provide covered employees emergency paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave. The FFCRA’s paid leave provisions went into effect on April 1, 2020 and apply to leave taken between April 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020.
The decision creates many issues for construction industry employers who have been obeying the DOL rules now declared to be unlawful.

For more information, listen to the recorded webinar below titled, New COVID-19 Paid Leave Issues for Employers as the Country Reopens, where ABC General Counsel Maury Baskin from Littler Mendelson P.C. addresses the impact of the court decision. You can also read more on the court's decision by click the button below which will bring you to the analysis Littler put together.

As it relates to New York State; If schools are online or hybrid, employees will be able to get 12 weeks of paid time off if they have kids. Schools being closed is a qualifying event to trigger both paid sick and paid family leave. Due to uncertainties left in the district court’s opinion, ABC will be monitoring the DOL’s next steps.
Construction Training Centers of New York State Fall 2020 Semester Registration Now Open

REGISTRATION & PAYMENT DUE BY: SEPTEMBER 4th, 2020
Buffalo
Construction Training Center
2363 Broadway
Sloan, NY 14212

Carpentry 2A Classes Start: 9/14/20

Carpentry 4A Classes Start: 9/15/20

Electrical 2A Classes Start: 9/15/20

Electrical 3A Classes Start: 9/15/20

Electrical 4A Classes Start: 9/14/20

Electrical 5A Classes Start: 9/15/20
Rochester
Construction Training Center
2672 West Ridge Road
Greece, NY 14626
(Located behind the AT&T Store)

Electrical 2A Classes Start: 9/15/20

Electrical 3A Classes Start: 9/15/20

Electrical 4A Classes Start: 9/14/20

Electrical 5A Classes Start: 9/15/20
Albany
Construction Training Center
878 Old Albany Shaker Rd.,
Latham, NY 12110

Carpentry 4A Classes Start: 9/14/20

Insulating 1 Classes Start: 9/14/20

Plumbing/Pipefitting 2A Classes Start: 9/15/20

Plumbing/Pipefitting 4A Classes Start: 9/14/20
Long Island
Construction Training Center
1 Comac Loop, #4,
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779

Carpentry 4A Classes Start: 9/15/20

Dockbuilder 1 Classes Start: 9/14/20

Iron Worker 3A Classes Start: 9/14/20

Laborer 2A Classes Start: 9/14/20

Plumbing 1 Classes Start: 9/14/20

Roofer 3B Classes Start: 9/15/20

Sheet Metal 4A Classes Start: 9/15/20

Electrical 2A Classes Start: 9/15/20

Electrical 4A Classes Start: 9/14/20

Electrical 5A Classes Start: 9/15/20
Register Your Employees For CORE
Do you have a new hire? Or someone new entering your apprenticeship program? Then you need to sign them up for our CORE class.

It teaches your employees the basics that you need to know to succeed in construction. They will learn:

  • Basic Safety
  • Introduction to Construction Math, Hand Tools, Power Tools, Construction Drawings, Basic Rigging, Material Handling
  • Communication Skills
  • Employability Skills

Click the button below for the registration form:
Stimulus 4 on Hold
Senate Majority Leader McConnell announced yesterday afternoon that the Senate will be in recess until September 8th. Though there will be several pro forma sessions during the recess period, and Senators were also advised, that they are still subject to being called back with 24 hours of notice to vote on a final Phase 4 COVID relief deal, if one is reached, based on that schedule, the likelihood of significant Senate floor activity on additional relief legislation in the near term is obviously low. McConnell added Thursday afternoon that he still hopes "we'll have some kind of bipartisan agreement here sometime in the coming weeks."
 
The House already left town and isn't expected to return until Sept. 14, the four key negotiators of a potential relief deal have not met in person since Friday, when the talks officially collapsed. Further, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that negotiations on the relief package would not restart until Republicans agreed to a $2 trillion price tag for the deal.
 
September will be the last month that Congress will be in session before the 2020 elections, giving Reps. and Senators just a few weeks to not only hammer out a deal on coronavirus aid, but also on government funding before it runs dry on Sept. 30, to avoid a government shutdown.
 
Pelosi has said the next package cannot wait six more weeks, and she does not want to tie the $1 trillion-plus relief talks to an already contentious government funding battle. However, with a limited number of days with the House and Senate in session, circumstances could change.
President Trump Signs Executive Orders
In lieu of the failed negotiations over additional relief funding from Congress, President Trump signed executive orders to provide expanded unemployment benefits, a temporary payroll tax deferral, eviction protection and student-loan relief.
Details on the executive actions include:

  • Federal Eviction Moratorium: The eviction moratorium put in place for tenants by the CARES Act expired July 25, but due to the 30-day notice requirement, the moratorium actually ends on Aug. 24. In June, the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development extended the moratorium on foreclosures and evictions for homeowners, but this new executive order instructs agencies, such as HUD and the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, to consider measures and identify funds that would provide relief and spare renters and homeowners from eviction or foreclosure.

  • Payroll Tax Deferral: This memorandum instructs the Internal Revenue Service to stop collecting the 6.2% employee-side payroll tax for those making $104,000 or less. The order is retroactive to July 1. Though the White House can only suspend collection without an act of Congress, and failure to withhold could eventually result in a $150 billion tax bill, President Trump has promised to ensure these payments are forgiven if re-elected.

  • Enhanced Unemployment Benefits: In an effort to replicate the lapsed Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, this memorandum instructs relevant agencies to create an "assistance program for lost wages" by tapping $44 billion in unspent disaster relief funds. The weekly benefit would be structured as a $300 federal match to $100 provided by participating states. The memo calls on states to use Coronavirus Relief Fund proceeds provided by the CARES Act to trigger the federal match, pointing out that $80 billion remained unspent at the end of June. The memo calls for the program to run through the first week in December or until the Disaster Relief Fund is drawn down to $25 billion, which could last only five weeks or less.

  • Defer Student Loan Payments: The CARES Act suspended payments, interest and collections on federal student loans for six months. These protections were slated to expire Sept. 30, but this memorandum extends the existing student loan payment suspension and interest freeze through the end of the year.
ABC Empire Chapter Resources