On June 27, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction that will block the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing the persuader rule, officially titled the Interpretation of the ‘Advice’ Exemption in Section 203(c) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), which was scheduled to go into effect on July 1.  

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that the new annual hiring benchmark under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) is 6.9 percent, down slightly from 7 percent in 2015. The act requires federal contractors to take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote and retain veterans.

On June 10, 2016, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision rejecting ABC’s challenge to the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) controversial “ambush” election final rule.  ABC General Counsel Maury Baskin of Littler Mendelson P.C., Washington, D.C., argued the case on behalf of ABC of Texas, the Central Texas Chapter of ABC and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Texas on March 3 in New Orleans. 

On May 16, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released final rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) that address employer-sponsored wellness programs and financial inducements.  The rules specifically limit incentives for participation in programs that involve disability-related inquiries and/or medical examinations or require the disclosure of a spouse’s current or past health status information. 

On June 2, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a final rule increasing the penalty for failure to post notices of worker rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act (GINA).  Under the final rule, the maximum fine for failure to comply with these notice-posting requirements rises from $210 to $525 per violation.  

The administration released the latest regulatory agenda on May 18th which outlines the priorities in the in the coming months. Previously we outlined the upcoming OSHA rulemakings and those impacting federal contractors. Here are some additional rulemaking impacting the construction industry.

On May 18, the administration released the latest regulatory agenda outlining their plans for their final months. The agencies are looking to work on several rulemakings impacting federal contractors. An update on rulemakings affecting the construction industry is outlined below. 

Construction jobsites in Washington, D.C., stopped work at midday on Thursday, May 5 so that workers could attend a special Safety Week event, the Ballpark Grand Slam for Safety at Nationals Park. Workers made their way to the stadium for safety and equipment demonstrations and exhibits, a Stretch and Flex exercise, subcontractor safety awards, remarks by OSHA's Acting Director, of the Directorate of Construction and lunch. The event was sponsored by ABC -a Safety Week partner, major general contractors, insurers and Associated General Contractors 

ABC today released the following statement in reaction to the release of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) final rule on Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, commonly referred to as “electronic recordkeeping.”

An amendment which would exempt the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) from the controversial “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order 13673, proposed rule and guidance, commonly referred to as “blacklisting,” passed the House Armed Services Committee on April 28.