Over the years, the Construction Citizen team has put a bright spotlight on the myriad problems caused by worker misclassification. Those difficulties continue to mount while Texas lawmakers do very little about it, much to the frustration of ethical companies that cannot compete with cheaters, many single mothers who are denied child support payments, conservative […]
Archive | Construction RSS feed for this section
Cheating by Unethical Employers Reaches Crisis Levels While Texas Lawmakers Sit on Their Hands
Read full story • Comments Off on Cheating by Unethical Employers Reaches Crisis Levels While Texas Lawmakers Sit on Their Hands
Texas Education Reforms are Key in Promoting the Middle Skills
Sweeping education reforms passed by the Texas Legislature in 2013 will be a great help to business leaders in Houston as they embark on an unprecedented push to promote “middle skills” jobs. Those are well-paying jobs that, as the Construction Citizen team has been telling you, require more than a high school diploma but less […]
The Austin School District Should Follow Houston ISD’s Progress on Construction Jobs
The Austin School Board recently voted to adopt Davis-Bacon federal wage rates on construction of facilities under the district’s new $490 million bond package. While some have hailed this as a historic step, it is seen by many as merely a short-term fix for attracting workers into the skilled trades. In short: more needs to […]
Read full story • Comments Off on The Austin School District Should Follow Houston ISD’s Progress on Construction Jobs
Many Law-Abiding Companies Can’t Compete in Dallas/Fort Worth, Executive Says
In a marathon hearing held by Texas lawmakers on the issues of workers’ comp and worker misclassification, representatives from businesses and labor came together to talk about what could be done to level the playing field for ethical companies and improve the lives of middle class Texans. But, there was also significant pushback from certain […]
Read full story • Comments Off on Many Law-Abiding Companies Can’t Compete in Dallas/Fort Worth, Executive Says
Some in Business Join With Labor to Call for Mandatory Workers’ Comp in Texas
Note: This story originally appeared on The Quorum Report. Join us there daily for coverage of Texas politics and government. The Texas House Business and Industry Committee on Tuesday got down to work this week on an extensive review of whether workers’ comp insurance should continue to be voluntary. Texas, as you may know, is […]
Read full story • Comments Off on Some in Business Join With Labor to Call for Mandatory Workers’ Comp in Texas
Texas House Committee Hearing This Week on Worker Misclassification
A Texas House Committee has scheduled a hearing on the issue of worker misclassification and what more the state may need to do to combat the problem that is particularly rampant in the construction industry. The House Business and Industry Committee will take testimony on the implementation of a limited crackdown that was signed into […]
Read full story • Comments Off on Texas House Committee Hearing This Week on Worker Misclassification
More Resources May Be Needed For Texas Education Reforms to Work
Some lawmakers raised questions this week about whether school districts around Texas have the kind of resources they’ll need to fully implement sweeping education reforms signed into law last year. Starting this fall, students will have several new options for which path they’d like to take to earn a high school diploma. But whether those […]
Targeted Worker Misclassification Crackdown Begins in Texas
Construction companies across Texas that work on public projects are on notice now that the targeted worker misclassification crackdown passed by the legislature in 2013 has taken effect. HB 2015 “Worker Classification” was signed into law on June 14, 2013 and became effective on January 1, 2014. This law is considered by many to be a good first […]
Follow the Conversation
About Scott
Scott Braddock is a journalist and political analyst based in Austin.
