The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recently announced a series of virtual compliance seminars to provide information on prevailing wage requirements for federally funded construction and service contracts. The seminars will include video trainings with corresponding virtual question and answer sessions.

On Jan. 4, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a proposed rule that would increase certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees charged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. ABC is working with the H-2B Coalition to highlight the burden this proposal will place on contractors and other businesses that rely on critical visa programs to support their wo

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is promoting its Workplace Stress Safety and Health Topics page as a resource to help support workforce mental well-being. The webpage offers guidance to employers on how they can alleviate stress and shares outreach materials, including posters, with tips on how employers and workers can work t

Recently, federal agencies have taken a number of actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the construction industry. ABC continues to track these initiatives while participating in the regulatory process to ensure that the need to protect our environment is accomplished without imposing unnecessarily costly and burdensome requirements on the construction industry. 

On Feb. 2, ABC submitted comments to the National Labor Relations Board opposing its proposed rule on Representation-Case Procedures, which addresses election-blocking charges, voluntary recognition and construction industry bargaining relationships. The proposal rescinds the ABC-supported 2020 NLRB final rule, which was intended to “better protect employees’ statutory right of free choice on questions concerning representation.”

On Feb. 2, the Federal Trade Commission announced it will host a public forum examining the FTC’s proposed rule to prohibit employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers.

In response to the Defense Industrial Base becoming the target of more frequent and complex cyberattacks from foreign and independent bad actors, the U.S. Department of Defense is expected to release new cybersecurity regulations in 2023 designed to enforce protection of sensitive federal contract information and controlled unclassified information that is shared by the DOD with

On Jan. 31, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 497, the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, by a bipartisan vote of 227-203. ABC supported the legislation, which would eliminate the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate on health care workers and repeal the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services health care staff vaccination rule that continues to affect ABC members who perform construction work at health care facilities. ABC provided a statement in support of the bill ahead of passage.

The Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act of 2023, or REINS Act, was recently reintroduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.). The bill, which would require every new “major rule” proposed by federal agencies to be approved by both the House and U.S. Senate before going into effect, currently has 179 Republican co-sponsors.

On Jan. 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced opportunities for public input on new programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act that affect states, developers and builders. The IRA, opposed by ABC, was signed into law on Aug. 16, 2022.