The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) are soliciting comments from the construction community about the potential use of a government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) on federal construction projects in Texas and Maryland.

In its regulatory agenda released Nov. 27, the Department of Labor (DOL) listed a date of March 2014 to release its “persuader” final rule , which severely narrows long-standing reporting exemptions for employers and labor relations experts and redefines “advice.”   If the rule is finalized, it will greatly expand the circumstances in which third party advice, which employers use to educate their employees about collective bargaining, would have to be reported by both the employer and the third party. Third parties include attorneys and association staff. As the proposal is currently written, the disclosure requirements also inclu

As a part of the Affordable Coverage Project, ABC and other business groups responded to final rules issued by the IRS on the new burdensome health insurance tax beginning on Jan. 1, 2014, calling on Congress to protect employers and consumers from the increased health coverage costs.

The second-annual National Conference for Public-Private Partnerships (P3C 2014), Feb. 24-25 in Dallas, Texas, will host hundreds of developers, public-planners and A/C/E experts from across the country as they learn more on the trends and opportunities available among cities, states and local agencies.

The NCPPP and Association of Defense Communities are holding a Federal Energy workshop Dec. 10-11 in Arlington, Va., focusing on the use of public-private partnerships (P3s) and their role in federal government energy program objectives.

According to OSHA’s latest semiannual regulatory agenda, released Nov. 27, the agency plans to issue a final rule on confined spaces and a notice of proposed rulemaking on injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2) in 2014. The regulatory agenda lists the priorities of the administration and the rulemakings they expect to release this year; however, OSHA is not required to adhere to the timeline.

ABC contractor members now can take advantage of exclusive BIM training and design solutions that will make them more productive, efficient and profitable. The training is part of a larger effort known as Project Virtual. 

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) Nov. 27 announced that online enrollment for small businesses in the federally-facilitated Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace will be delayed one year until November 2014.  

ABC Nov. 21 expressed concern over a controversial change in U.S. Senate rules and procedures that will allow the majority party to skirt a filibuster to confirm certain presidential appointments.  Traditionally, 60 votes have been needed to confirm nominees and pass legislation, but by invoking this unprecedented rule change along partisan lines, the majority has lowered that threshold to a simple majority of 51 votes.

The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released a report Nov. 7 showing a decrease in on-the-job injury and illness rates for the construction industry in 2012. The total number of recordable cases declined to 3.6 incidents for every 100 full time employees (FTEs), down from 3.8 in 2011.