OSHA’s Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses final rule requires certain establishments to electronically submit information from their OSHA Form 300A for calendar year 2018 by March 2.

On Feb. 13, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to allow the operation of small unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, at night and over people under certain conditions without obtaining a waiver.

On Feb. 13, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced a new policy directive to establish a voluntary compliance program for high-performing federal contractors. The Voluntary Enterprise-wide Review Program provides contractors with an alternative to OFCCP's establishment-based compliance evaluations and instead focuses on recognizing contractors that demonstrate comprehensive corporate-wide compliance and model diversity and inclusion programs.

On Feb. 7, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a temporary enforcement policy for the crane operator evaluation requirements in the 2018 Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Operator Qualification final rule. The evaluation and documentation requirements became effective on Feb. 7, 2019.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of the Army announced plans to host a public hearing on the new “Waters of the United States" proposed rule in Kansas City, Kansas, Feb. 27-28. The hearing was previously scheduled for Jan. 23 but was postponed due to the lapse in appropriations at the EPA. 

On Jan. 31, President Trump signed an executive order, “Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects,” which expands the administration’s preferences for American products in federal procurements and federal financial assistance awards on critical infrastructure projects.

On Jan. 28, ABC submitted comments on the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer proposal, which would establish an updated standard for determining joint-employer liability under the National Labor Relations Act. Additionally, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace submitted comments in support of the NLRB’s proposal.

On Jan. 25, OSHA issued the Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses final rule, which eliminates the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) to OSHA annually.

Employers covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s recordkeeping rule are required to post their 2018 OSHA Form 300A work-related injury and illness log summaries in an area where notices to employees are typically posted from Feb. 1 through April 30. The form must be posted in a visible spot at each covered establishment.

On Jan. 18, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations and three related pieces of guidance implementing the new qualified business income deduction (also known as the section 199A deduction). The new 20 percent deduction for pass-through entities was created by the ABC-supported Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.