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Robust Turnout at 2022 Builders’ Show Signals Strength of Home Building Industry

More than 45,000 home building professionals filled the exhibit halls of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) hosted the NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS) Feb. 8-10, which followed extensive health and safety protocols.

IBS and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) once again combined for the annual Design & Construction Week® (DCW), which drew more than 70,000 attendees.

“The attendance at this year’s show exceeded our expectations and reflects the enthusiasm of the home building industry to collaborate and discover the latest products and technology solutions for their customers,” said Geoff Cassidy, NAHB senior vice president of exhibitions and meetings. “Our top priority remained the safety of attendees and exhibitors throughout the show. We implemented a series of health measures that helped to ensure a safe and productive show.”

Exhibit space for IBS totaled 425,000 net square feet, where more than 800 exhibitors displayed the latest in building products and technology.

In all, DCW featured nearly 1,200 exhibitors occupying approximately 725,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibits. Many exhibitors also noted the strong foot traffic of attendees.

“We’re really pleased with the turnout. We’re excited to have in-person meetings with our clients and be able to walk them around and show them our products,” said Nicole LeBlanc, shopper marketing manager for Builder Channel at Whirlpool Corporation. “We did a lot of product research leading up to the show and are excited to showcase that here.”

In addition to meeting suppliers and seeing product demos throughout the three-day show, attendees networked with peers and attended any of more than 110 education sessions led by experts on a wide range of industry topics.

Next year, Design & Construction Week will return to Las Vegas Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2023.

Minneapolis, St. Paul Restore Mask Mandates as Virus Spreads

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota’s two largest cities moved Wednesday to reimpose mask requirements in businesses and public places as the omicron variant of coronavirus spreads rapidly.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said the requirement would take effect in both cities at 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We have to keep our city healthy and moving,” Frey said in a prepared statement. “Wearing a mask is an obvious next step to do both.”

Minnesota reported 4,149 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday statewide, with 71 deaths. More than 10,600 people have died of the virus since the pandemic began.

On Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz announced plans to open three more COVID-19 community testing sites as the omicron variant stresses the state’s testing capacity.

Minnesota had its deadliest month of the pandemic for 2021 in December, with 874 deaths reported. The state’s seven-day test positivity rate was 12% as of Dec. 27, the highest of the year.

Walz said he expected the surge in omicron cases to accelerate in coming weeks.

Minneapolis and St. Paul Lift Vaccine/ Test Mandate for Restaurants and Bars

Minneapolis and St. Paul Lift Vaccine/ Test Mandate for Restaurants and Bars

The mask mandate will remain in effect for businesses licensed by the cities.

Twin Cities Mayors Melvin Carter and Jacob Frey jointly rescinded their vaccine-or-test emergency regulations for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues, effective immediately, as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations rapidly decline.

Mask mandates for Minneapolis’ “areas of public accommodation” and St. Paul’s city-licensed businesses will stay in place for now.

DLI recovers more than $334K in back wages for construction workers

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has recovered more than $334,000 in back wages for construction workers who were not paid the correct prevailing wage or overtime wages.

DLI’s record-setting prevailing-wage investigation found AE2S Construction, LLC, doing business as EIM, a North Dakota company, performed electrical work on a project at a wastewater treatment plant in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, that was partially funded by a state grant and did not pay its employees the correct wage set under state prevailing-wage law. The company also failed to pay its employees overtime wages and misclassified some of its employees as apprentices instead of electricians.

The investigation, from March 2018 to December 2020, resulted in DLI entering into a consent order with AE2S Construction, LLC and recovering $333,984.26 in back wages through that order for 33 workers, whose individual back-wage payments ranged from $4.20 to $44,033.50. Earlier in the investigation, the company made partial overtime back-wage payments to nine workers for a total of $831.92.

“Skilled construction workers involved in state-funded projects must be paid the appropriate prevailing-wage rate based on the services they perform,” said Roslyn Robertson, DLI commissioner. “Companies working in Minnesota must follow our state’s laws.”

The prevailing-wage rate is the minimum hourly wage employers must pay their employees performing construction work on projects funded in whole or in part with state dollars. Minnesota’s Prevailing Wage Act requires workers to be paid the wage rate for the type of work they are performing on the project. Prevailing-wage rates are based on wages paid in the local community for the same type of work.

DLI is available for consultations to inform project participants, including contractors and subcontractors, about prevailing-wage requirements and best practices for compliance. Contractors that perform work on state-financed construction projects can sign up for prevailing-wage notifications. Contractors planning to bid on projects subject to Minnesota’s prevailing-wage law should contact DLI with questions before bidding or entering into construction contracts.

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