ABC of Texas and the Central Texas Chapter of ABC filed a lawsuit Jan. 13 challenging the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) ambush election final rule. The suit was filed jointly with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Texas in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. 

NCCER is collecting information on craft professional salaries in order to complete research and compile recruiting materials on behalf of the construction industry. ABC members can help NCCER’s efforts by completing their craft professional wage survey by Jan. 16.

The U.S. House of Representatives Jan. 8 voted 252-172 to pass the ABC-supported Save American Workers Act (H.R. 30), which would replace the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) definition of “full time” as 30 hours or more per week with the traditional definition of 40 hours. Before the vote, ABC sent a letter urging Congress to support the bill and markedit as “Key Vote” for their 114th Congressional Scorecard because under the ACA’s current 30-hour rule, many employers will be forced to reduce employee work hours and wages.  

ABC submitted comments on Jan. 5 to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) expressing their strong opposition to the proposed rule that would require government contractors to report summary data on employee compensation to the DOL. ABC urges the OFCCP to withdraw their proposal.

Through Project Virtual, a collaborative effort between ABC and Synergis Engineering Design Solutions to deliver affordable and effective BIM training and solutions, ABC members have access to two free webinars covering new services offered by Autodesk and tips on increasing productivity with AutoCAD. 

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) filed a lawsuit Jan. 5 seeking to overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) controversial ambush election rule. The changes are scheduled to take effect April 14 unless a court or Congress blocks enforcement of the new rule. The suit was filed in the D.C. Federal District Court and follows CDW’s successful 2012 lawsuit that overturned the NLRB’s previous ambush election rule. 

The 2015 National Craft Championships is approaching its Jan. 9 Intent to Compete deadline. Don’t miss out on being a part of the big event and reserve a spot for your most talented employees by the Jan. 9 deadline. The event will be held March 3-6 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. in conjunction with ABC’s Workforce Conference.

ABC announced Jan. 6 that Fringe Benefit Group (FBG) has become ABC's fourth strategic partner and will be supporting ABC’s core value of ethics and compliance through their success of keeping clients in compliance with complex government regulations.

The United States Senate passed a one-year “extenders” bill Dec. 16, retroactively renewing 55 previously expired tax credits and other key policies for the 2014 tax year. The 76-16 Senate vote echoes the overwhelming 378-46 House approval earlier in the month and sends the bill to the President’s desk where the White House signaled he will sign it into law. ABC recently joinedmore than 500 industry groups in urging the swift passage of such legislation.

The Michigan Supreme Court has agreed to hear ABC’s appeal in a case that could lead to the invalidation of local prevailing wage ordinances throughout the state. The lawsuit seeks to overturn a May 2014 Michigan Court of Appeals ruling, which overturned a previous Ingham County Circuit Court decision that ruled in ABC’s favor.