On Jan. 5, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a press release reminding certain employers that the administration began collecting calendar year 2021 Form 300A data on Jan. 2. The deadline to electronically submit the form is March 2.

As of this writing, the Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision on the appeal to reinstitute a stay of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applies to employers with 100 or more employees.

ABC has added Wisconsin Chapter member Troy Carlson of Ansay & Associates LLC to the Beam Club Presidential Level.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will be hosting a free virtual seminar on Executive Order 14026, Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors on Wednesday, Jan. 26, and Thursday, Jan. 27, at 1:30 p.m. ET. The training is the latest in WHD’s ongoing efforts to increase awareness and improve compliance with federal prevailing wage require

Three different federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates issued under the Biden administration continue to be challenged in the courts. Read the important developments on the federal contractor, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services and Occupational Safety and Health Administration vaccination mandates.

On Dec. 17, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the 5th Circuit’s stay of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applies to employers with 100 or more employees.

On Dec. 15, the House and Senate passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act, following negotiations to ensure passage of the bill before the end of the year. Notably, the NDAA agreement removed several harmful labor provisions opposed by ABC from the previous version of the bill passed only in the House.

On Dec. 10, the Biden administration released its Fall 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. 

Courts have blocked three different federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates issued under the Biden administration. Since the court orders staying the different federal mandates are at this time only preliminary, it is premature to say the threat posed by the federal mandates is past. It appears the mandates will be at a minimum delayed, but there will inevitably be appeals, perhaps up to the Supreme Court. There are also many private, state and local mandates that are not affected by these court rulings.

ABC’s New Hampshire/Vermont Chapter recently partnered with the New Hampshire Home Builders Association, ApprenticeshipNH and Manchester Community College to create a registered carpentry apprenticeship program approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. The program is desperately needed to help address the shortage of carpenters in the state.