The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection filing deadline has been extended from July 19 to Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. However, the EEOC encourages eligible employers to file the required EEO-1 Component 1 report(s) as soon as possible.

The elevated price of softwood lumber, a major talking point during much of the pandemic, appears to have peaked in early May at more than $1,700 per thousand board feet. As of June 23, the price has fallen below $900 per board feet, down about 49% in less than two months. 

On June 22, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer forced a vote on the ABC-opposed For the People Act. ABC key-voted against this procedural show vote arguing that the bill is a misguided attempt to reform our elections and campaign finance law that would discourage Americans from exercising their First Amendment right to free speech, politicize the agencies tasked with protecting our elections and expose hardworking taxpayers to harassment, intimidation and retribution even when they do not part

On June 22, ABC joined more than 100 trade associations to support the Main Street Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 1381/S. 480) and to oppose potential legislation from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that would weaken the Section 199A pass-through deduction. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act would make permanent the current 20% deduction for small and family-owned businesses, provided through Section 199A of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

On June 14, the ABC Keystone Chapter welcomed 12 girls from surrounding school districts to its facility to learn about blueprints, the construction process and safety at a week-long summer program called the All ‘Bout Construction (ABC) Girls Camp. The first of its kind at the chapter, the camp allowed girls to meet women who work in the industry and visit a series of jobsites. They even got a chance to build and take home their own multi-trade, steampunk-themed lighted charging station using their own set of tools from Klein and ABC strategic partner Milwaukee Tool.

On June 10, Annie Mecias-Murphy, co-owner and president of Associated Builders and Contractors member JA&M Developing Corp., headquartered in Pembroke Pines, Florida, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure on the negative impacts that the Biden administration’s infrastructure plan would have on small business contractors.

On June 9, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army announced their intent to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” that are federally regulated under the Clean Water Act and replace the definition under the Trump administration’s 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which provided four clear categories of waters under the CWA that businesses and landowners could easily understand.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the long-awaited COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard on June 10. The Construction Industry Safety Coalition, which ABC is a steering committee member, said that it is pleased that the Biden administration and OSHA listened to the concerns and recommendations of the construction industry in formulating the ETS.

On June 11, the Biden administration released its Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.  The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory actions from each agency that the administration expects to publish through the end of the year and into 2022. ABC has prepared a summary of the actions of interest to ABC members by agency.   

On June 10, the Biden-Harris administration announced key findings from the reviews directed under Executive Order 14017 “America’s Supply Chains,” as well as immediate actions the administration will take to strengthen American supply chains to promote economic security, national security and “good-paying, union jobs here at home.”