On June 27, President Trump nominated William Emanuel, a shareholder with ABC’s general counsel, Littler Mendelson P.C., to fill the remaining seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Emanuel is a member of Littler’s Traditional Labor Practice Group and has extensive experience representing trade associations, hospitals, school districts, manufacturing companies and others in a wide range of labor matters.

On June 27, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it was proposing to delay the electronic reporting portion of the final rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses,” from July 1, 2017 to Dec. 1, 2017. 

On June 20, President Trump nominated Marvin Kaplan to fill one of two vacant seats on the five member National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Kaplan serves as counsel to the commissioner of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent organization designed to decide workplace safety and health disputes between the Department of Labor and employers. 

ABC applauded President Trump’s executive action on apprenticeships, which is an important step toward building new career opportunities for all Americans. If fully implemented, the order will allow industries to build innovative workforce development systems that address glaring skills gaps in our workforce.  With the construction industry currently facing a workforce shortage of as many as 500,000 jobs, this order is an important first step to allow more entryways into becoming a construction professional.     

On May 23rd, the White House released the president’s proposed budget for the 2018 fiscal year (FY18). Titled “A New Foundation for American Greatness,” Congress is likely to dismiss most or all of the president’s budget -- as they traditionally do with most White House wish lists, but the budget provides insight into White House policy and program priorities. 

On May 15, ABC submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on costly and burdensome EPA regulations and policies. In the comment letter, ABC expressed concern that major federal projects have been unnecessarily delayed or abandoned, resulting in jobs being deferred or never created because of a dysfunctional permitting system. ABC supports a streamlined process for developers to obtain environmental permits and approvals for their projects in a timely and efficient manner, which would help foster job creation and economic growth. 

The U.S. House of Representatives took steps to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act by passing H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act (AHCA) on May 4. H.R. 1628 repeals several of the most harmful and burdensome provisions of the ACA, including the employer mandate penalty, costly tax increases and limitations on contributions to and restrictions on the use of flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts. ABC sent a letter in support of H.R. 1628 to the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed the House by a vote of 217-213. The bill now awaits action in the U.S. Senate.

On April 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a memorandum withdrawing a letter of interpretation that stated nonunion employees can authorize an individual “affiliated with a union or a community organization” to act as their representative during agency-sanctioned inspections and other enforcement situations.

In his first 100 days in office, President Trump took a variety of actions that impact ABC members culminating in the swearing in of U.S. Department of Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta on April 28. Read a statement by ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman praising President Trump for taking important steps to create a pro-growth business environment and a summary of those actions.

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary R. Alexander Acosta was sworn in on April 28, giving President Trump a full cabinet just ahead of his 100th day in office. ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman congratulated Secretary Acosta in a statement released shortly after he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and committed to working with DOL to address the needs of the construction industry.