Engineering Inc. - March/April 2003 - (Page 30)

R00E3FORM 2 By Dana Wilkie Potential regulatory activity 1 9 3 0 s , raising the minimum wage from 25 cents to 40 cents an hour and limiting working could impact the way hours to 45 a week. Today, the act is a substantive part of pub- l i c - s a f e t y regulation that is engineering firms do business. designed to protect workers on the job. The Act has come under c r i t i c i s m over the last several Four years ago shortly after dawn near Penn State y e a r s , however, for failing to University a motorist on Highway 322 fell asleep k e e p pace with today's work- place. This has led to calls from at the wheel, veered into oncoming traffic, struck a m a n y people in the business car head on and killed its driver. c o m m u n i t y to modernize the Act. The A/E industry in partic- What happened after that was, d e n c e potentially absolving i n Washington this year. The ular is advocating for changes to as far as Arthur T. Tom Nielsen them of liability earlier in court g o a l : to improve the business ensure that engineering profes- i s concerned, also tragic: The proceedings. environment engineering com- sionals are exempt from the Act's man's widow sued Nielsen's engi- T h i s costs the engineering panies operate in, thus allowing w a g e and overtime require- neering firm, Erdman Anthony industry and all businesses a t h e m to increase profits and m e n t s c h a n g e s that are in & Associates Inc., on the h u g e sum every year,'' says productivity. keeping with the intent of the g r o u n d s that flaws in the Nielsen, an executive vice presi- original law. FLSA Reform guardrail separating the highway dent at his firm and a member of The Bush administration is c o n t r i b u t e d to her husband's A C E C 's Risk Management B e s i d e s curtailing the large also looking to modernize the d e a t h . About a year ago, the Committee. If we could have n u m b e r of anti-business law- Act. Specifically, businesses want company settled the case to avoid s h ow n the court immediately suits, the Bush administration the U.S. Department of Labor the expense of going to trial. that there was no design error, we h o p e s to make regulatory t o rewrite the portion of the Nielsen tells this story to illus- could have gotten a dismissal. c h a n g e s that would exempt FSLA that defines white-collar t r a t e why he and ACEC are Reforms to tort law, the tax more engineers and design pro- w o r k e r s . As the regulation is working with Congress and the code and the Fair Labor Stan- fessionals from overtime pay. currently written, a white-collar White House to allow compa- dards Act FLSA are among the C o n g r e s s passed the Fair w o r k e r is anyone who is 1 n i e s like his to introduce evi- efforts being pursued by ACEC L a b o r Standards Act in the salaried and 2 performs certain l April 2003 3 0 E N G I N E E R I N G INC. M a r c h

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - March/April 2003

FROM ACEC TO YOU
MEMBERS ASK
NEWS & NOTES
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
EXCLUSIVE: AN INTERVIEW WITH DON YOUNG
ON THE ROAD
ANNUAL CONVENTION PREVIEW: ALAN LIGHTMAN
ACEC PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY SURVEY RESULTS
REFORM 2003
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
ONE ON ONE

Engineering Inc. - March/April 2003