ABC General Counsel Maurice Baskin Feb. 4 testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Workforce Protections during a hearing titled, “OSHA’s Regulatory Agenda: Changing Long-Standing Policies Outside the Public Rulemaking Process.” On behalf of ABC and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Baskin addressed a Feb. 21, 2013, letter of interpretation (LOI) from OSHA allowing union agents and community organizers for the first time to accompany safety inspectors into nonunion facilities, as long as an unspecified (non-majority) number of employees in the nonunion work place designate one.

ABC chapters and members can honor a Craft Professional or Craft Instructor by submitting a nomination for the 2014 Craft Professional of the Year (CPOY) and Craft Instructor of the Year (CIOY) Awards by March 7. The CPOY winner will receive a brand-new truck and the CIOY winner will receive a cash prize May 2 at ABC’s Careers in Construction Awards Ceremony.

An updated summary of employer requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is available for ABC members in a reference document provided by Washington Council Ernst & Young. The document is available on the health care law employer tool kit (login required) on ABC’s website.

ABC is now accepting volunteers to judge the 2014 National Craft Championships on May 1 in Birmingham, Ala. ABC members with recognized experience and expertise in a craft who are interested in participating should submit a judge’s form, found on the NCC website, to [email protected] indicating one of the 13 craft competitions they plan to judge.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced a series of Prevailing Wage Seminars for 2014 that will allow attendees to learn more about the Davis-Bacon Act, the process of obtaining wage determinations and adding classification, how to comply, the process of appealing wage rates and more. 

ABC is reminding its contractor member firms that 2013 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Form 300A work-related injury and illness log summaries must be posted in a visible spot on all construction sites Feb. 1 through April 30. 

OSHA Jan. 24 announced a 15-day extension of the public comment deadline for OSHA’s proposed crystalline silica rulemaking, moving the deadline from Jan. 27 to Feb. 11. The extension comes in response to an error on OSHA’s public comment submission page, which was first identified by ABC and brought to OSHA’s attention. 

OSHA held an informal public meeting Jan. 9 and 10 in Washington, D.C., to receive public feedback on a proposed rule that would require employers to submit to the agency electronically detailed injury and illness data that would be made publicly available through an online database. Employer groups, including the ABC-led Coalition for Workplace Safety (CWS), took the opportunity to express serious concerns over OSHA’s proposal. 

Associated Builders and Contractor’s (ABC) 2014 Workforce Development Conference is now open for registration. The conference, held April 29-May 2 in Birmingham, Ala., features more than 40 sessions covering a range of topics from project management, safety, workforce development, productivity and association management. 

The National Labor Relations Board Jan. 22 formally withdrew its modified ambush elections rule, which would have reduced the amount of time between when a union files a representation petition and an election takes place to as few as 17 days.