On June 15, OSHA announced that it will extend the comment period on its proposal to ensure crane operators are qualified to safely operate equipment by an additional 15 days. Comments will now be accepted through July 5, 2018.

On May 31, U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Acosta and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, visited a jobsite of Omega Construction, an ABC member headquartered in Winston Salem, N.C. Secretary Acosta and Rep. Foxx toured the Hotel Indigo renovation, guided by Omega Construction President Barry Hennings, and met with employees and apprentices.

On May 21, 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a proposed rule to update its standard for cranes and derricks in construction to ensure crane operators are qualified to safely operate equipment. Entitled Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Operator Qualification, the rule proposes several changes to the existing standard.

ABC’s Greg Sizemore, vice president of HSE and workforce development, joined the secretaries of labor, education, commerce and stakeholders from industry, education and government in the Oval Office on May 10 to present the final report from the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion to President Trump. The report outlines how industry-recognized apprenticeship programs and other innovations can help meet the need for highly skilled workers in all industry sectors.

On May 9, the Trump administration released its Spring 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory actions from each agency that the administration expects to release through the end of the year and into 2019. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has extended the deadline for filing the 2017 EEO-1 Survey from March 31 to June 1, 2018. According to the EEO-1 Survey webpage, an email will be sent to the EEO-1 company contact introducing the new EEO-1 Survey application. Any questions on the new survey should be directed to 1 (877) 392-4647. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will begin enforcement of the final rule on occupational exposure to beryllium in the construction industry on May 11, 2018. According to its May 10 press release and interim enforcement memorandum, OSHA will begin enforcing on May 11 the new lower 8-hour permissible exposure limit (PEL) and short-term (15-minute) exposure limit (STEL) for construction. 

On April 30, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that it made an error regarding implementation of the 2016 Electronic Injury Reporting and Anti-Retaliation final rule and determined all affected employers are required to submit injury and illness data in the Injury Tracking Application online portal, even if the employer is covered by a State Plan that has not completed adoption of their own state rule. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has extended the deadline for filing the 2017 EEO-1 Survey from March 31 to June 1, 2018. According to the EEOC FAQs, for the 2017 EEO-1 reporting cycle, the EEO-1 will collect data on the race, ethnicity and sex of workers by job category from private employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees and $50,000 in contract(s).

Citing a survey of ABC member and chapter labor attorneys that found widespread dissatisfaction with the 2014 “ambush” election final rule, ABC submitted comments urging the National Labor Relations Board to rescind the rule in whole or in significant part and return to the election procedures that were in effect and working well prior to the new rule’s adoption.