The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Oct. 30 issued a proposed rule under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) that would authorize employers who offer wellness programs to provide inducements for an employee’s spouse, who is also a participant in the employer’s health plan, to disclose their current or past health information. Under the proposal, total incentives provided to an employee and his or her spouse for participating in a wellness program that is a part of a group health program that collects this information may not exceed 30 percent of the total cost of the health plan in which they are enrolled.

A bipartisan group of legislators in the United States Senate voted 55-43 to pass a resolution (S.J.Res. 22) that nullifies the controversial “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule. The resolution was introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Ia.) following a procedural vote on the ABC-supported Federal Water Quality Protection Act (S. 1140), which was blocked by Senate Democrats in a 57-41 vote (short of the 60 votes needed to advance). The resolution also prevents the agencies from issuing a similar version of the regulation in the future.

President Obama Nov. 2 signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (H.R. 1314), which suspended the application of the debt limit until March 2017 and ensured that the United States would meet its financial obligations. The deal was approved by a bi-partisan group of legislators the Unites States Senate Oct. 30 and the House of Representatives on Oct. 28.

On Oct. 27, the ABC-led Coalition for Workplace Safety (CWS) submitted comments urging the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to withdraw its proposed rule clarifying an employer’s continuing obligation to make and maintain accurate records of reportable injuries.

Everyone has smartphones and tablets on the jobsite. But are you using the cameras on these devices as a competitive advantage? Most contractors are taking photographs on the job. But the experienced ones are using software which documents not only when the pictures were taken, but uses the GPS capabilities of the device to store the exact location as well. And the best contractors can pull up drawings on their tablet and see pins dropped automatically on the plans, showing where the pictures were taken. This type of progressive visual documentation can be invaluable not only to the owner, but to the contractor as well. During later phases of construction, say after the sheetrock has been in

ABC needs volunteer leaders for the launch of its Diversity Resource Groups (DRGs). Do you have a passion for diversity and inclusion? Do you have leadership experience in the construction industry? Would you like to assist ABC members in becoming world class diversity leaders? Would you like to help ABC drive industry diversity and inclusion in order to attract a diverse workforce to the construction industry?

ABC is encouraging all members to call on their Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor and support the “Protecting Local Business Opportunity Act” (S. 2015/ H.R. 3459). This important legislation will help provide additional stability for contractors, subcontractors and their employees by restoring the 30 year old “joint employer” standard, encouraging local business ownership and employee opportunity.

Great news! If you’re an employee of an Associated Builders and Contractors member, you may qualify for an ABC member discount on auto insurance, in addition to GEICO's already low rates. The member discount is available in most states.  Already a GEICO customer? Call GEICO and ask a customer service representative if you qualify for an additional discount as a member.

President Obama signed into law an ABC-supported, bipartisan change to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) the evening of Oct. 7. The bill signed into law, the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees (PACE) Act (H.R. 1624/ S. 1099), will remove the ACA requirement that mandates states to expand the small group definition. As a member of the 50-100 Coalition, ABC urged Congress to pass the PACE Act in letters to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate as well as to individual members of Congress.

ABC reiterated its opposition to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) one-size-fits-all overtime proposal ahead of the Oct. 8 U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee  Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations hearing on how the proposed regulation would impact small business owners and their employees. The proposed rule, which was issued July 6, makes changes to existing regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that define which employees are exempt from overtime pay.