On Sept. 4, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a notice to announce that the minimum wage for federal contractors will increase to $10.60 from the current $10.35 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2019. 

On Aug. 24, the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published an announcement of public hearings on the joint proposal “Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks” in the Federal Register. The SAFE Vehicles proposed rule would amend certain existing Corporate Average Fuel Economy and tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks and establish new standards for model years 2021 through 2026.

On Aug. 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from the nation’s power plants, the Affordable Clean Energy proposed rule. It would roll back President Obama’s 2015 regulation, known as the Clean Power Plan, which would have imposed strict regulations on coal-fired power plants and was widely opposed by the construction industry. The CPP was stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court and has never been in effect.

The U.S. Department of Labor will recognize employer efforts to recruit, employ and retain veterans through the HIRE Vets Medallion Award Program in 2019. Under the program, established under the HIRE Vets Act of 2017, the DOL will begin accepting award applications from small, medium and large employers in January. Check out the hirevets.gov website for information on the timeline, and application fees and criteria for eligibility.

On Aug. 13, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 53 Frequently Asked Questions to provide further guidance to employers and employees regarding OSHA’s respirable crystalline silica standard for construction. Through the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, ABC was involved in the formulation of these FAQs.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service announced proposed rules to provide critical guidance on the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The proposals would affect tax provisions affecting the construction industry, including temporary 100 percent expensing, the 20 percent deduction on qualified business income for pass-through entities and the implementation of the repatriation transition tax under section 965 as it relates to U.S. shareholders with accumulated foreign earnings.

On Aug. 2, the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a joint notice of proposed rulemaking, the “Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks," which would amend certain existing Corporate Average Fuel Economy and tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks and establish new standards. The standards would cover vehicle model years 2021 through 2026.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently revised its Law and Regulations webpage to offer users easier navigation through OSHA standards and rulemaking. The updated webpage features more user-friendly settings, including information buttons that explain regulatory language that may be unfamiliar to some users, a list of key resources and the latest updates on active rulemaking.

On July 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking titled Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. According to OSHA, the proposal seeks to better protect personally identifiable information or data that could be re-identified with a particular individual by removing provisions of the 2016 Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule.

On July 19, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service proposed revisions to regulations governing sections 4 and 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The public has until Sept. 24, 2018 to comment on the proposed rules.