On Aug. 31, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a motion for summary judgment against the U.S. Department of Labor’s burdensome and costly overtime rule and converted his earlier preliminary injunction (issued Nov. 22, 2016) to a permanent injunction. ABC participated in the business coalition that achieved this outcome, and ABC General Counsel Maury Baskin of Littler Mendelson P.C. filed the successful motion for summary judgment.  

Last month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a schedule of meetings that will offer the public the chance to discuss the definition of “Waters of the United States (WOTUS).” Following a proposal to rescind the Obama-era WOTUS rule in July, EPA and the Corps published a notice in the Federal Register on Aug. 28.

On Sept. 18, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will require employers to use the revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, with a revision date of 07/17/17 N. Employers must continue following existing storage and retention rules for any previously completed Form I-9.

SouthCon Building Group LLC of Mount Pleasant, S.C., a member of ABC’s Carolinas Chapter, has been awarded Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status by ABC. The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in five key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, employee benefits, training and community relations.

We have all been affected by the scenes that continue to unfold of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit our country.  When the flood waters recede, ABC contractor members and their employees will be asked to help rebuild Houston and other communities along the Texas Gulf Coast.  

President Trump kicked off his push for tax reform with a speech at a manufacturing facility in Springfield, Mo., making the case that a "pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-worker, and a pro-American" tax code is the key to revitalizing Main Street businesses, bringing back jobs and keeping the United States competitive in the global economy. The event, attended by local small business leaders including more than a dozen members of ABC’s Heart of America Chapter, marked the opening salvo in the White House’s effort to sell a highly anticipated tax bill that sits atop the GOP’s fall legislative agenda.

On Aug. 1, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched the Injury Tracking Application, which is the web-based form employers can use to submit their injury and illness data. The launch comes right after OSHA closed the comment period on delaying the electronic reporting portion of the final rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” from July 1 to Dec. 1, 2017.

Architectural Metals Inc. of Portland, Mich., a member of ABC’s Western Michigan Chapter, has been awarded Accredited Quality Contractor (AQC) status by ABC. The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in five key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, employee benefits, training and community relations.

In a live interview on Fox News on Aug. 20, ABC President and CEO Bellaman praised President Trump’s recent executive order streamlining infrastructure permitting, saying it goes a long way towards eliminating construction delays and sets the table for when legislation is passed. But we have “a whole lot to do” before infrastructure rebuilding can begin.

Twenty percent of the top 25 commercial solar contractors of 2017 are ABC members. The firms were ranked by Solar Power World according to their number of kilowatts installed in 2016.