The Better Builder® Standards
We hope that more construction projects choose to adopt Better Builder® standards for all workers and their subcontracting chain. Better Builder® standards are practical to implement and have a huge impact on the safety and economic security of those who labor in the Texas construction industry.
Better Builder® certified monitors are on-site bi-weekly to evaluate compliance.
- Compliance with all relevant local, state, and federal wage and hour laws.
- All construction workers on the project receive wages no less than the City of Austin living wage as defined by the City of Austin’s Ordinance No. 20160324-15.
- All construction workers on the project are paid by check.
- Compliance with all relevant local, state, and federal safety laws.
- All construction workers on the project receive personal protective equipment, free of charge.
- All construction workers on the project receive and complete a 10-hour, OSHA approved construction worker safety class prior to commencing construction work.
- All safety supervisors on the project receive and complete a 30-hour, OSHA approved construction worker safety class prior to commencing construction work.
- All construction workers on the project are covered by workers’ compensation insurance.
- Commercially reasonable efforts are made for 30% of the project’s workforce be students or graduates of local, DOL-registered apprenticeship programs or DOL-approved bilingual craft training programs that offer hands-on instruction at no cost or nominal cost to the worker.
- Reasonable signage on the jobsite in both English and Spanish listing the Better Builder® standards, where other federal and state regulatory signage is posted.
- Owner agrees to allow an independent, Better Builder® certified monitor on-site bi-weekly to evaluate compliance.
- Owner agrees to compensate Better Builder® accredited monitor at a rate dependent on the total project square footage, project value, and number of workers on-site, until the project receives its certificate of occupancy.