Press Room
Welcome to the NLBMDA Press room, where you can find position statements and press releases from our organization on important topics for the lumber and building material industry.
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) represents its members in the national public policy arena, with emphasis on efforts to 1) promote the industry and educate legislators and public policy personnel; and 2) assist legislative, regulatory, standard-setting and other government or private bodies in the development of laws, regulations and policies affecting lumber and building material dealers, its customers and suppliers. Founded in 1917, the association has over 6,000 members operating single or multiple lumber yards and component plants serving homebuilders, subcontractors, general contractors, and consumers in the new construction, repair and remodeling of residential and light commercial.
DOL Issues Overtime Rule Increasing Threshold to $55K
Posted by Administration August 30, 2023
Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require overtime pay for most salaried workers earning less than $55,068 per year ($1,059 per week), a 55% increase from the current threshold of $35,568 for mandatory overtime pay. The proposed rule would also automatically update this threshold every three years with increases that are tied to the 35th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time non-hourly workers in the lowest-wage Census Region (currently the South).
Furthermore, the proposed rule would update the earnings threshold for the highly compensated employee (HCE) exemption to $143,988, linking it to the annualized weekly earnings of the 85th percentile of full-time salaried workers nationally.
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Run Payments Joins NLBMDA’s Manufacturers and Services Council (MSC)
Posted By Administration August 9, 2023
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) announced today that Run Payments is the newest member of the association’s Manufacturers and Services Council (MSC). The council is composed of the leading building material manufacturers and service providers serving the lumber and building material industry.
Run Payments is a payments consultancy firm that packages together different technology stacks for lumber dealers to lower their fees through optimization or allowing them to pass on the charges to the customer. We also integrate and interface with multiple technologies and ERP systems like Epicor and Infor, among others. This allows operations and finance to streamline their processes for improved efficiencies.
Culpeper Wood Preservers Joins NLBMDA’s Manufacturers and Services Council
Posted By Administration, August 3, 2023
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) announced today that Culpeper Wood Preservers is the newest member of the association’s Manufacturers and Services Council (MSC). The council is composed of the leading building material manufacturers and service providers serving the LBM industry.
Culpeper Wood began as a local pressure treating company with a single location in historic Culpeper, Virginia, and today is one of the largest producers of pressure treated lumber in the United States. Culpeper's brand-name products are produced at our 17 strategically located plants and sold exclusively through lumber dealers throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Mid-West, and South.
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Learn More About NLBMDA’s New ELDT Certification Program Today!
Posted By Administration, August 3, 2023
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) has partnered with J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. to offer members of the association an exclusive discount on certifying trainers in entry-level driver training.
During this webinar you will learn how to get your drivers on the road to success—and keep them at your company longer—by training your trainers to deliver powerful entry-level driver training (ELDT). During this session you will learn everything you need to know about our new ELDT program, so make sure to register today!
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OSHA Updates Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
Posted By Administration, August 2, 2023
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a final rule on the tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses that requires employers in high-hazard industries to electronically submit injury and illness information to OSHA on an annual basis. The final rule becomes effective on January 1, 2024, and requires businesses with 100 or more employees to submit information from their Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) to OSHA once a year. These are in addition to the required submission of Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses). Businesses in high-hazard industries with 20 or more employees will continue to be required to submit information from their Form 300A to OSHA once a year.
The recordkeeping requirements mandated by OSHA can pose significant cost burdens on employers and NLBMDA has serious concerns about how OSHA will protect the sensitive private and personal medical information contained in the Form 300 and Form 301. In 2022, NLBMDA submitted comments urging OSHA to withdraw the proposed rule and stressed that it puts the confidentiality and protection of sensitive employer and employee information at risk while creating duplicative, burdensome and costly recordkeeping requirements with no demonstrable benefits to workplace safety. The electronic submission of this data is a stark departure from prior OSHA positions on protecting sensitive information, and the agency intends to make much of the data it collects publicly available online.
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NLBMDA Announces Exclusive Partnership with J.J. Keller & Associates
Posted By Administration, August 2, 2023
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) announced it has partnered with J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. to offer members of the association an exclusive discount on certifying trainers in entry-level driver training.
With J. J. Keller’s Safe & Smart® ELDT Certification Program, trainers will gain the skills and knowledge they need to train drivers to prevent accidents, avoid violations, reduce liability, and begin a safe career at your company. Their clients typically see a 20% greater retention rate, which dramatically improves your training ROI.
After completing this program, driver trainers will be prepared to effectively deliver J. J. Keller’s Safe & Smart® ELDT curriculum online, in the classroom, on the range and on the road. It’s the industry’s most hands-on, customizable trainer certification program, providing the flexibility to train your trainers when and how it works best for you. Not only is it ideal for new drivers, it’s also ideal for existing trainers who want to build their skills for the life of your drivers — and be able to continue coaching them the entire way.
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DOL Proposed Overtime Rule Member Survey
Posted By Administration, July 31, 2023
In 2022, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced their intent to update regulations defining which employees are eligible for overtime compensation and which ones are exempt. Specifically, DOL states that one of their primary goals is to update the salary threshold for mandatory overtime pay that is currently set at $35,568 per year.
Recently, DOL sent its proposed rule to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. This is a required initial step before the proposed overtime rule is published. While OIRA has 90 days to conduct its review, in most cases, the review takes 30 to 60 days. The proposed rule is not public during OIRA’s review, although there are some indications that the new salary threshold for overtime pay could be around $50,000 and will not make changes to the duties test. Whether that holds true or not will have to wait until we see the actual text.
Considering DOL’s announcement, NLBMDA is proactively gathering information regarding the impact that potential changes to the overtime rule could have on employers and their employees.
Click here to read more.
OSHA Updates Injury and Illness Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
Posted By Administration, July 28, 2023
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a final rule on the tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses that requires employers in high-hazard industries to electronically submit injury and illness information to OSHA on an annual basis. The final rule becomes effective on January 1, 2024, and requires businesses with 100 or more employees to submit information from their Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) to OSHA once a year. These are in addition to the required submission of Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses). Businesses in high-hazard industries with 20 or more employees will continue to be required to submit information from their Form 300A to OSHA once a year.
The recordkeeping requirements mandated by OSHA can pose significant cost burdens on employers and NLBMDA has serious concerns about how OSHA will protect the sensitive private and personal medical information contained in the Form 300 and Form 301. In 2022, NLBMDA submitted comments urging OSHA to withdraw the proposed rule and stressed that it puts the confidentiality and protection of sensitive employer and employee information at risk while creating duplicative, burdensome and costly recordkeeping requirements with no demonstrable benefits to workplace safety. The electronic submission of this data is a stark departure from prior OSHA positions on protecting sensitive information, and the agency intends to make much of the data it collects publicly available online.
Click here to read more.
NLBMDA Announces Exclusive Partnership with John Burns Research and Consulting
Posted By Administration, July 27, 2023
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) and John Burns Research and Consulting (JBREC) are excited to announce a joint Lumber and Building Material Dealer Survey partnership.
The partnership will invite NLBMDA’s member base into JBREC’s existing high profile Building Products Dealer survey, expanding upon the existing partnership with the Executive Council on Construction Supply. Partnership with both high-profile organizations will increase the reach and regional representation of the sample.
Since starting in 2017, JBREC’s Building Products Dealer Survey has provided timely and actionable insights on the new construction and remodeling market. This new partnership strengthens JBREC’s Building Products Dealer Survey’s position as the preeminent survey of lumber and building material dealers.
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Kodiak Building Partners Earns National Recognition As ProDealer of the Year
Posted By Administration, June 26, 2023
It all started in 2011 as an idea to invest in a steel fabricator with loads of potential just outside of Denver.
Over the ensuing years, and following a disciplined path of rolling up a collection of businesses in LBM and distribution, Kodiak Building Partners has grown to well over 100 locations in 25 states. Mixed in with all of its business decisions during that span was a core principle: to maintain a fiercely local approach that honors the proud, family-business legacies associated with these trades.
That impressive growth, along with a commitment to the values of the industry, combined to carry Highlands Ranch, Colorado-based Kodiak Building Partners to a new distinction: It’s the 2023 ProDealer of the Year.
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NLBMDA, NAHB and Canadian Trade Delegation Hold Talks on Softwood Lumber
Posted By Administration, June 9, 2023
On Monday, June 5, the National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) hosted a trade delegation from the Québec government for in-depth discussions concerning softwood lumber trade negotiations between the United States and Canada. Softwood lumber plays a critical role in the construction of housing as a primary material used for various structural components, including framing, flooring, roofing, and walls. The ongoing U.S.-Canada softwood lumber dispute has had significant economic implications for both countries, affecting the lumber industry, housing market, and trade relations. NLBMDA President & CEO Jonathan Paine and Director of Government Affairs Jacob Carter held strategic talks with NAHB and the Québec trade delegation led by Ambassador Raymond Chrétien, who served as the Canadian ambassador to the U.S. from 1994 to 2000 during the Clinton Administration and is now Québec’s chief negotiator on softwood lumber.
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Hilltop Lumber Earns National Recognition As Independent ProDealer of the Year
Posted By Administration, June 9, 2023
Good people, hard work and persistence have been key elements of the business plan of Hilltop Lumber since it was founded in 1988 in Glenwood, Minnesota.
The company has expanded since then to four locations in western Minnesota , including a dazzling Idea House show room in Alexandria that propelled Hilltop to a Business and Industrial Appreciation Day Award.
Hilltop Lumber will accept the 2023 Independent ProDealer of the Year Award at the upcoming ProDealer Industry Summit in Kansas City, Missouri, Oct. 4-6.
Brian Klimek, Hilltop Lumber owner and general manager, described his team as “incredibly honored” for the recognition.
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Credit Card Competition Act of 2023 Introduced in 118th Congress
Posted By Administration, June 9, 2023
On Wednesday, June 7, a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers introduced the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023 (S.1838/H.R.3381), legislation that would enhance competition and choice in the credit card network market which is currently dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly. This landmark legislation would help fix a broken market that has allowed Wall Street megabanks and global card networks to block competition and unfairly profit at the expense of LBM dealers and small business retailers for far too long. Building off of debit card competition reforms enacted by Congress in 2010, the bill would direct the Federal Reserve to ensure that giant credit card-issuing banks offer a choice of at least two networks over which an electronic credit transaction may be processed. The bill was introduced in the 118th Congress by U.S. Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Lance Gooden (R-TX), Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), along with U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Peter Welch (D-VT), and J.D. Vance (R-OH).
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NLBMDA Releases 2023 National Policy Agenda
Posted By Administration, January 17, 2023
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) released today the 2023 National Policy Agenda, a comprehensive advocacy agenda for 2023, which outlines important policy priorities for the lumber and building material industry that will boost the housing and construction industry and support continued job creation across the U.S. economy.
“NLBMDA members are essential to the national supply chain for building and residential construction,” said Jonathan Paine, President & CEO of NLBMDA. “Our policy agenda highlights areas for Congress and the White House to collaborate and implement meaningful policy that will allow small businesses to thrive while strengthening the U.S. economy with new jobs and affordable housing options for Americans in every part of the country.”
Click here to read more.
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