• EFCA – Amidst all of the controversy, three mega-retailers proposed an alternative to the currently pending EFCA act. Those retailers?   Starbucks, Whole Foods and Costco.
• Green building law blogger Shari Shapiro went to a green building conference and asks the question:  Is construction law Where The Boys Are…and The Girls Aren’t.
• The Business Pundit reports that the Knauf Drywall Fiasco could be the Biggest Home Defect Case In U.S. History.  The question then becomes…are you prepared for that?  Wolfe Law has been blogging on Chinese Drywall here, and they have published an Avvo Legal Guide titled:  What To Do If You Installed or Supplied Chinese Drywall.
• The Stimulus is still in the news.  Here is a searchable spreadsheet published by the Contractor’s Blog of the 18,000+ Infrastructure projects.
• Wolfe Law Group news?   Check out an interview with founding member Scott Wolfe Jr. on New Orleans’ Fox 8 about Chinese Drywall.   Also, the firm announced a new practice group to represent, advise and defend builders, contractors, suppliers and other construction industry participants who are implicated by the imported drywall crisis.

While predicted to “sail” through the House, it faces a serious challenge in the Senate according to the Wall Street Journal.    The WSJ reports that many leading Senate Democrats who previously voiced support for the bill have backed off recently, perhaps in light of the controversy garnered by the act.  Louisiana veteran senator, Mary Landrieu, is among those democrats reconsidering their positions.

The most controversial aspect of the act – by far – must be the proposed eliminate of “secret ballots” to determine unionization, and the substitution of the secret ballots with a “card check” system.

While labor unions has previously urged that it would not compromise on the EFCA, with the bill’s potential failure in the Senate, AOL News reports that democrats may be open to compromising on the proposed card-check system.

As the debate continues, so will news on the EFCA.   You can follow our discussion of the act’s progress at this tag:  Employee Free Choice Act

Business calls it “Armageddon.” Labor says it’s “a modest step.”

The article discusses one of the hot topics in labor law these days, the Employee Free Choice Act.  Around the blogosphere and news agencies, discussion of the EFCA is on fire.   A Google Video search of the topic yields propaganda from both sides, and on Chris Hill’s Construction Law Musings, I recently published a guest post summarizing argument from both proponents and opponents of the bill.

While the EFCA is certainly on the forefront of the labor law debate, its clear that its not the only argument in town.

To the contrary, since the recent inauguration of President Obama, there has been a substantial shift in labor law issues facing the construction industry, and it’s expected that more is on the way.

One of the most controversial actions by President Obama in the construction industry is the repeal of Executive Order 13502, which prohibited project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal and federally funded construction.   ABC issued a press release specifically directed at this action, contending that it opposes PLAs because they “eliminate merit shop contractors from competing for and winning construction projects.” The ACG also came out against the repeal of 13502 here.

Another labor-law related act already performed by President Obama is the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.  The act was signed by the President on January 29, 2009, and extends the time period allowed for employees to seek compensation for unequal pay practices.  The act is retroactive to May 28, 2007, and applies to all claims of pay discrimination on or after that date.  Read more about the act at the AGC website here, or on CNN, which covered the Act as “Obama’s First Law.”

From the perspective of the construction industry, it’s a love/hate relationship with President Obama thus far, just one-month into his tenure.

On the one hand, as the Wall-Street Journal reported in mid-January, the construction industry has counted on Obama to put together a strong stimulus package that invested in federal contracting projects (and he pulled through).

On the other hand, however, President Obama is leading a potentially historic shift in employment and labor law matters that will seriously impact construction businesses.

Time will tell how the relationship between President Obama and the construction industry will fare.  So far, however, it’s been a mixed bag.