On Oct. 30, the National Labor Relations Board announced an extension of the comment period on its proposed rule that would set a new standard for determining joint-employer liability under the National Labor Relations Act. The deadline for submitting comments has been extended from Nov. 13 to Dec. 13, 2018.

On Oct. 23, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule that would allow small and mid-sized businesses to band together and offer 401(k) plans to their employees through Association Retirement Plans.

On Oct. 23, the U.S. Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services jointly issued a proposed rule, Health Reimbursement Arrangements and Other Account-Based Group Health Plans, that seeks to expand the availability of affordable health insurance for hardworking Americans by increasing the usability of health reimbursement arrangements.

On Oct. 17, the Trump Administration released its Fall 2018 Regulatory Plan and 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 in 2019.

On Oct. 11, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a memorandum clarifying its position on workplace safety incentive programs and post-incident drug testing included in the 2016 final rule, Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses (also known as the Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule), issued under the Obama administration.  

On Sept. 28, ABC submitted comments to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on its recent proposal to remove certain provisions of the 2016 Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule, officially titled Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. ABC also commented as a member of the Coalition for Workplace Safety.

On Sept. 27 and 28, the U.S. House of Representatives passed three bills (H.R. 6757, H.R. 6756 and H.R. 6760) that comprise the Tax Reform 2.0 package. ABC key voted these three bills and appreciates the important work of the House in moving these bills forward and building on the successes of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. These bills now move to the Senate, where their fate will likely be determined after the November elections by whichever party is in control of the Congress in 2019. 

On Sept. 14, the National Labor Relations Board published a proposed rule that would establish an updated standard for determining joint-employer liability under the National Labor Relations Act. The proposal aims to foster predictability, consistency and stability in the determination of joint-employer status, and therefore clarifies the standard in a way that promotes meaningful collective bargaining and advances the purposes of the NLRB.

On Aug. 28, U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta announced the Department of Labor’s new Office of Compliance Initiatives, which aims to promote greater understanding of federal laws and regulations and provide innovative approaches to compliance assistance and enforcement.      

In February 2017, President Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review the 2015 final Clean Water Rule: Definition of "Waters of the United States," also known as the WOTUS final rule, and accordingly revise or rescind it through public comment.