IAC's HomeAdvisor to merge with Angie's List
IAC, New York, and Angie's List Inc., Indianapolis, have entered into a definitive agreement to merge IAC's HomeAdvisor and Angie's List into a new publicly traded company, ANGI Homeservices Inc.
The new business, which will maintain Angie's List and HomeAdvisor brands, will match homeowners with service professionals in the domestic home services market. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors for both companies and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Homeowners will be able to tap into North America's largest combined network of high-quality service professionals between HomeAdvisor's network of more than 156,000 and Angie's List's network of more than 55,000. Additionally, HomeAdvisor's product offerings will enhance the experience for more than 22 million monthly users currently visiting HomeAdvisor and Angie's List.
HomeAdvisor is an NRCA affinity partner. If you have questions about the affinity partnership, please contact Alison LaValley, NRCA's vice president of strategic partnerships and development, at alavalley@nrca.net.
Alliance offers Planned Giving Founding Donor opportunity
The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress has created a Planned Giving Founding Donor recognition for Alliance members and roofing industry professionals who bequeath at least $50,000 by the end of 2017.
The Alliance's formal planned giving program creates a source of long-term support while offering Alliance members and roofing industry professionals the tax benefits of deferred giving. Planned gifts can be made in a variety of ways, including through wills and bequests, charitable trusts, real estate, retirement assets, living trusts and more, and the mechanisms can be tailored to accommodate individual situations. In addition, there can be important tax advantages for leaving resources to qualified charities such as the Alliance, which is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
Members and roofing professionals who leave a remembrance to the Alliance will help fund research and programs to advance the industry for years to come, including:
The Alliance has resources to help direct your planned gift, including sample language, a letter for your professional adviser and/or estate planner, and a comprehensive planned giving guide, which includes giving opportunities and benefits.
For more information about how to become a Founding Donor and include the Alliance in your will or estate plan, contact Alison LaValley, NRCA's vice president of strategic partnerships and development, at alavalley@nrca.net or visit www.roofingindustryalliance.net.
Former NRCA president Don McNamara passes away
McNamara |
Don McNamara, former NRCA president and former owner of NRCA member F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing Co. Inc., a Tecta America company, Milwaukee, passed away Sept. 16. He was 81.
McNamara graduated with a law degree from Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, in 1961. He became a CPA and worked as a tax attorney at the Touche, Ross, Bailey and Smart accounting firm (now known as Deloitte Touche) in Milwaukee. In 1967, he joined his client, F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing, as majority owner and continued working in the industry until his retirement in 1995. McNamara rejoined F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing in 2000 to help lead the formation of Tecta America Corp. and served as Tecta America's first CEO and on its board of directors.
He served as NRCA president from 1986-87; vice president from 1984-85; senior vice president from 1985-86; and NRCA director from 1980-82 and 1983-84. He served on numerous NRCA committees, including the Nominating Committee, Technical Operations Committee, Audit/Budget/Finance Committee, Awards Committee and NRCA Retirement Committee. In 1990, he received NRCA's J.A. Piper Award.
He also served as president of the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA). In 1982, McNamara received MRCA's James Q. McCawley Award.
McNamara is survived by his wife, Valerie; sons Robert, Theodore and Timothy; grandchildren, Christopher, Clare, Connor, Daniel, Flynn, Gregory, Joseph, Keenan and Kevin; and seven great-grandchildren. Donations in McNamara's name may be made to the Salvation Army at www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/ways-to-give/; Shorehaven Behavioral Health at 3900 W. Brown Deer Road, Suite 200, Brown Deer, WI 53209; or St. Jerome Catholic Church at 995 S. Silver Lake St., Oconomowoc, WI 53066.
Former president of Diamond Everley Roofing passes away
Gwaltney |
Mark Alan Gwaltney, former president and owner of Diamond Everley Roofing, Lawrence, Kan., passed away Aug. 8. He was 60.
After studying business at Oklahoma City University, Gwaltney began his successful career in the roofing industry. He enjoyed spending time outdoors and watching sports, especially the Kansas City Royals baseball team and Kansas Jayhawks football team. Gwaltney is survived by his wife, Tamara; father, Dwight; children, Jenny, Kyle and Malinda; grandchildren, Elizabeth, Ethan and Isaac; and sisters, Julie and Patricia.
Donations in Gwaltney's name may be made to Lawrence Habitat for Humanity at lawrencehabitat.org/donate.
Roofing Technology Think Tank launches website
Roofing Technology Think Tank (RT3), an emerging group of roofing industry thought leaders, has launched a new informational website, www.RT3thinktank.com. The website serves as a platform for RT3 to share technology information, research and updates from RT3 meetings.
RT3's first meeting held in Chicago in June is highlighted on the website along with news and contact information. Future meetings, virtual and in person, will be shared on the site, as well as information gathered through RT3 task teams, Tech Talks and guest speakers.
"We are focused on research, understanding and dissemination of technology that can help the roofing industry with labor issues and professional branding," says Dale Tyler, president of National Roofing Partners. "If we want to compete for talent as an industry, we will need to create an appealing workplace. With our dwindling workforce, we need to be on the front end of innovative technologies that will automate the rooftop. Labor is just one of the urgent business problems that can be addressed with technology."
"It is the focus of all RT3 participants to learn as much as possible about new and existing technologies that could be used in roofing," says Heidi J. Ellsworth, owner and president of HJE Consulting. "We want to share what we learn, and a website is the best way to share with the industry."
Workplace safety laws are developing in the Southeast
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has inspected more than 4,000 worksites this year in Alabama, Florida and Georgia, the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, making the area the de facto capital of federal workplace safety and health law.
Population redistribution, aggressive litigators and jurisdictional advantages may be contributing to the upsurge of OSHA law in the Eleventh Circuit, area attorneys say. OSHA has conducted about 500 fewer inspections in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, which have a similar population and comprise the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Nearly one-third of the substantive decisions issued by Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission administrative law judges have involved worksites in the Eleventh Circuit. The independent federal agency provides trial and appellate review of contested citations and penalties resulting from inspections.
An increase in the number of manufacturing jobs in the region has supported residential and commercial construction, Carla Gunnin, a principal in the Atlanta office of Jackson Lewis PC, tells Bloomberg BNA.
"The population is moving south and west," says Andrew Gross, an Atlanta attorney. "There is more construction here, especially residential and homebuilding, and therefore an OSHA emphasis on this area."
During 2017, OSHA has conducted more than 2,000 inspections in the Southeastern states at construction sites and more than 1,000 inspections at manufacturing sites. A 2015 OSHA rule requiring reporting for injuries may have contributed to increased enforcement, Gunnin explains. OSHA's Region IV may be using the injury reports and its local resources to conduct on-site inspections, which are more likely to lead to citations.
Informal settlement discussions usually follow a citation, and an employer may continue discussions after it files a notice of contest. OSHA's August 2016 penalty structure, which increased maximum penalties 78 percent, and employers' awareness of their right to contest citations are leading to more contests, says Katy Willis, a partner with Mobile, Ala.-based Burr & Forman.
"Smaller employers, such as mom and pop construction companies, are thinking why not contest and see if our chances are better with the solicitor than the regional office," she explains.
The Atlanta Regional Solicitor's Office prosecutes alleged violations before a review commission administrative law judge. OSHA attorneys often take cases from the Atlanta Regional Solicitor's Office to the Eleventh Circuit to get the law more narrowly applied, Gunnin adds.
Employers can petition one of three circuit courts for review of a final order from the commission: the court that contains the worksite, the court where the company has its principal office or the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Not all cases originating in Alabama, Florida and Georgia end up in the Eleventh Circuit.
The Eleventh Circuit has issued four OSHA law decisions during 2017 and may decide three more cases before the end of the year. The Eleventh Circuit issued five OSHA law decisions in 2016. None of the circuit's three states has an OSHA-approved state plan, so employers contest their citations in federal administrative and court proceedings.
How fast a circuit court proceeds also can affect an employer's decision to file a petition.
"As a matter of practice and procedure, the Eleventh Circuit is faster to rule and generally more prompt in turning cases around," Willis says.
An employer may want a case to progress in a slower circuit to allow the employer time to craft meaningful abatement measures, Willis explains. Other employers may choose a slower circuit if a related investigation from another agency, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, is ongoing because an adverse OSHA ruling could be used against the employer.
Some employers and the government simply seek more clarity about OSHA law from the Eleventh Circuit because OSHA legal issues are not as well-defined as in other circuits. The Eleventh Circuit has issued three unpublished decisions during 2017 regarding cases from the review commission and later published one on motion.
A short-staffed review commission, which until recently lacked a full three members, may have contributed to the composition of the full Eleventh Circuit's OSHA docket, Gunnin says.
Because the administrative law judge rulings became final orders, employers could appeal them to the Eleventh Circuit without another level of review. The deferential standard of review applied to final orders, the fact circuit judges aren't workplace safety law experts, and the time and expense worked against petitioning a circuit court for review, Gunnin says.
But the short-staffed review commission left employers and the secretary of labor with little choice.
"When you don't have a full review commission, that creates problems because it is the best place to try these cases," explains Gunnin. "Both employers and the secretary are reluctant to take unreviewed administrative law judge decisions to the top, but one level of review is insufficient."
Former NRCA president George Stephenson passes away
Stephenson |
George E. Stephenson Sr., former NRCA president and founder of Stephenson Roofing Co., St. Louis, passed away Aug. 25. He was 95.
After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Stephenson founded Stephenson Roofing Co. in St. Louis in 1950. He remained active in the company well into his 80s. Stephenson also was founder and former president of Roofers Mart of Missouri, St. Louis, and founder of Derbigum America Corp., Kansas City, Mo., which later was sold to Owens Corning, Toledo, Ohio, where he was appointed to the Advisory Board of Directors.
Stephenson served as NRCA president from 1976-77 and also served as an NRCA director, vice president, secretary-treasurer and on numerous NRCA committees. In recognition of his outstanding service to NRCA and the industry, in 1985, Stephenson received NRCA's prestigious J.A. Piper Award. Stephenson also served as president of the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association and received the association's James Q. McCawley Award.
Stephenson is survived by his wife, Lila; sons James, John and Thomas; and grandchildren Brian, George, Harry, Kelly, Kevin, Kristin and Yates. He was preceded in death by his sons, Brian Jeffrey and George E. Jr. Donations in Stephenson's name may be made to the George E. Stephenson Jr. Memorial Fund at the University of Missouri—Columbia, 302 Reynolds Alumni Center, Columbia, MO 65211, or Shriners Hospital for Children, 4400 Clayton Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110.
NRCA joins Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide kills nearly three times as many construction workers as falls do each year. In fact, the CDC reports the construction industry is the No. 1 industry for number of suicides and No. 2 in suicide rates.
As part of its commitment to safety in the roofing industry, NRCA has joined the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention, a group of key industry organizations that have recognized and are committed to promoting the safety and well-being of construction workers. Established by the Construction Financial Management Association in 2016, the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention's mission is "to provide and disseminate information and resources for suicide prevention and mental health promotion in construction with the goal of creating a zero-suicide industry." Part of NRCA's membership commitment involves periodically sharing these suicide-prevention resources.
The Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention offers resources on its website, including published articles, frequently asked questions, posters, and information and tips regarding how to plan an education session or suicide prevention summit.
For more information about the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention and to access its resources, click here.
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