In testimony before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Kwest Group President and Chairman of the ABC National Safety and Health Committee Ryan Odendahl called for a collaborative effort between industry and the federal government to increase workplace safety and promote economic opportunity in the United States.

On May 21, 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a proposed rule to update its standard for cranes and derricks in construction to ensure crane operators are qualified to safely operate equipment. Entitled Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Operator Qualification, the rule proposes several changes to the existing standard.

On May 21, in a win for employers, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of employers to use mandatory arbitration clauses under the Federal Arbitration Act to block the filing of class-action lawsuits over workplace issues. In a 5-4 decision, the majority rejected arguments that forcing those cases into private, individual arbitration violated employees' rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

On May 16, ABC Legislative Affairs staff participated in the Prior Approval Reform Coalition Hill Day and met with members of Congress about the discriminatory and burdensome “prior approval” requirement for corporate member trade association political action committees. The coalition met with 99 members’ offices and encouraged representatives to sign on as cosponsors to Rep. Mark Amodei’s (R-Nev.) H.R. 2101, the Prior Approval Reform Act.

18 of the nation's top 25 construction companies are ABC members, according to Engineering News-Record's (ENR) recently published annual list of the Top 400 Contractors. These successful contractors were ranked based on 2017 revenue.

ABC’s Greg Sizemore, vice president of HSE and workforce development, joined the secretaries of labor, education, commerce and stakeholders from industry, education and government in the Oval Office on May 10 to present the final report from the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion to President Trump. The report outlines how industry-recognized apprenticeship programs and other innovations can help meet the need for highly skilled workers in all industry sectors.

On May 9, the Trump administration released its Spring 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory actions from each agency that the administration expects to release through the end of the year and into 2019. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has extended the deadline for filing the 2017 EEO-1 Survey from March 31 to June 1, 2018. According to the EEO-1 Survey webpage, an email will be sent to the EEO-1 company contact introducing the new EEO-1 Survey application. Any questions on the new survey should be directed to 1 (877) 392-4647. 

According to the final report of the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, apprenticeship programs offer workers a career path with paid, on-the-job training and provide employers with highly trained workers, but they are insufficient to address the growing skills gap in many industries. ABC commended the secretaries of labor, education and commerce for leading the task force comprised of representatives from industry, education and government to generate new ideas to expand the role of apprenticeships and help more individuals achieve the American Dream.

On May 9, Chuck Goodrich won the Indiana House of Representatives District 29 Republican primary against three other candidates with 47 percent of the vote. Goodrich will face Democrat Tracy Roberts in November’s general election for the Noblesville, Ind. House of Representatives seat.