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.

Contractors looking to enhance their employees’ project management skills can enroll them to take part in the ABC Project Management Institute held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. The course includes two non-concurrent five-day sessions providing the students with tools to improve profitability and productivity and increase quality and customer satisfaction.