Flashings

Roofing company owner pleads guilty to fatal fall charges

James J. McCullagh, owner of James J. McCullagh Roofing, Jenkintown, Pa., pleaded guilty to one count of willfully violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation causing death to an employee; four counts of making false statements; and one count of obstruction of justice, according to www.osha.gov.

The charges stem from a June 2013 incident when a worker fell 45 feet from a roof while performing roofing repairs on a church in Philadelphia. During OSHA's investigation, McCullagh falsely stated on four occasions he had provided fall-protection equipment to his employees. McCullagh now faces a maximum statutory sentence of 25 years in prison, a possible fine, supervised release and a $510 special assessment.

McCullagh's company still faces civil penalties for willful and serious OSHA violations related to the accident. The civil matter is pending before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. McCullagh's company is not an NRCA member.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels issued the following statement: "I would like to thank the U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General for all their hard work on this case. No penalty can bring back the life of this employee, but the outcome in this case will send a clear message that when employers blatantly and willfully ignore worker safety and health responsibilities, resulting in death or serious injury to workers, or lie to or obstruct OSHA investigators, we will pursue enforcement to the fullest extent of the law, including criminal prosecution."

According to OSHA, falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry. NRCA offers assistance and tools to educate the roofing industry about all aspects of fall protection. For information about NRCA's fall-protection compliance program, Serving Up Safety: A Recipe for Avoiding Falls on the Job, visit shop.nrca.net. For more information about NRCA's safety programs, contact NRCA's Customer Service Department at (866) ASK-NRCA (275-6722).

Construction companies plan employee raises in 2016

Many construction companies plan to offer their employees raises in 2016, according to www.enr.com. A recent Engineering News-Record Construction Industry Confidence Index survey gathered information from executives at design firms, general contractors, subcontractors and construction managers about their hiring and compensation plans for 2016.

Of the 253 executives who responded to the survey, 223 provided estimates of planned raises for their employees during 2016. The average planned increase is 4.63 percent. Eight firms indicated they intend to offer raises ranging from 15 percent to 30 percent; removing these eight firms from the calculation still yields an average planned increase of 4.18 percent. Four firms indicated they do not plan to provide raises at this time.

Disregarding the firms planning to offer raises of 15 percent or more, subcontractors and specialty trade contractors plan to offer the largest raises, with an average of 4.25 percent. General contractors and construction managers intend to offer average raises of 3.94 percent, and design firms plan to offer average raises of 4.13 percent in 2016.

When asked about expanding their staff, 72 percent of executives responding to the survey indicated they plan additions to staff in 2016; 18.3 percent said they did not have any plans to add staff; and 9.8 percent were uncertain.

Additionally, the survey revealed project managers and engineers are most in demand. Demand also exists for craft labor employees in categories such as field labor; journeymen and skilled equipment operators; estimators; and field superintendents.

IRS releases 2016 standard mileage rates

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued the 2016 optional standard mileage rates for calculating deductible costs associated with operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

As of Jan. 1, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck is 54 cents per mile for business miles driven, a decrease of 3.5 cents per mile from the 2015 rate. The standard mileage rate is 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes and 14 cents per mile driven in service of a charitable organization. The medical and moving standard mileage rate was 23 cents in 2015.

Construction industry expansion expected despite increased interest rates

As has been widely reported, Federal Reserve officials have announced plans to raise short-term interest rates by 0.25 percentage points. The increase is the first to occur since June 2006.

Officials raised the interest rates in response to increased pressure in the wake of recent gains in wages and job creation. Interest rates likely will be raised again in 2016 but at a slow pace of only 1 percentage point during the year.

Despite the increase, the construction industry is expected to experience a slow but steady expansion this year, as noted in Dodge Data & Analytics' 2016 Construction Outlook report.

"Even if interest rates go up, the money is still so cheap, you'll still see a lot of development," says Jay Dacey, president of Integrated Builders, a commercial and industrial firm in Rockland, Mass.

Some homebuilders are wary the rate increase could negatively affect the number of potential homebuyers, but officials remain confident the slow pace of interest rate increases will not cripple the housing market's continued recovery.

"We're months if not years away from the type of high rates that would pose substantial risk to home sales, especially since what's driving the gradual movement to higher rates is a much healthier economy producing consistent solid gains in employment and household formations," Jonathan Smoke, chief economist of Realtor.com said in a statement.

Mortgage rates historically have been affected by short-term interest rate hikes, and mortgage rates eventually will be affected by this year's increase. But in a Zillow report released at the end of 2015, 70 percent of potential homebuyers said they still would buy a home if mortgage rates rose to 4.5 percent in 2016 from 2015's 3.9 percent fixed mortgages. However, nearly half of the respondents indicated they would reconsider the size of the home they will purchase as a result of the increased rates.