Encouraging the young professionals in your organization to grow both professionally and personally can have a major impact on your overall business. During ABC's Leadership Development Track, Nov. 11-12, in San Diego, Calif., young professionals in your company will learn the skills needed to become leaders and team players and to communicate effectively with your clients and other industry professionals.

U.S. Senate committee leaders Aug. 6 urged the Obama administration to pull its “incomplete” guidance proposal to implement the Obama administration’s “blacklisting” Executive Order 13673 and suspend its related proposed rule until the entire proposal is completed. 

On Oct. 8-9, in St. Pete Beach, Fla, ABC will bring together construction users and contractors to discuss industry safety, quality and workforce issues during its third annual Users Summit.

The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee recently released a set of memos from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps or USACE) to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that stated their concerns with the“Waters of the U.S.” rule (WOTUS). The rule dramatically expands the scope of federal authority over water and land uses across the country.  The rule has been finalized and is set to go into effect on Aug. 28.

OSHA July 29 issued a proposed rule clarifying an employer’s continuing obligation to make and maintain accurate records of reportable injuries and illnesses.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and the U.S. Department of Labor issued a second extension for submitting comments on the proposal implementing President Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order 13673, commonly referred to as the “blacklisting” executive order, by 15 days to Aug. 26. The extension comes as a result of Republican leaders of three congressional committees requesting an extension of the comment period.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command have issued two surveys soliciting comments from the construction industry on the potential use of project labor agreements (PLA) on projects in Maryland and Kentucky.

ABC filed a letter July 23 with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) requesting an extension of the comment period on the department’s Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees proposed rulemaking. Commonly referred to as “the overtime proposal,” the notice of proposed rulemaking was issued June 30. 

President Obama signed a three-month extension of federal highway funding on July 31, less than 24 hours before the funds were set to run out. The short-term extension of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which funds safety, highway, transit and other transportation-related programs, is the 34th short-term, stopgap bill in the past six years.

On Aug. 3, President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final Clean Power Plan, which will cut power plant carbon emissions 32 percent below 2005 levels, by 2030. The rule is among several released by EPA that will increase compliance and transaction costs while creating uncertainty for America’s small businesses.