On Sept. 14, ABC, along with a coalition of nearly 400 business groups sent a letter to U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Ranking Member Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) urging them to support the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015 (S. 2006).

On Sept. 10, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued its final rule prohibiting federal contractors and subcontractors from terminating or otherwise discriminating against employees who discuss their compensation with co-workers or job applicants. This rule implements the Obama administration’s Equal Pay initiative under Executive Order 13665 and will take effect on Jan. 11, 2016.

ABC and more than 900 members submitted comments in opposition to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division’s July 6 Proposed Regulations for Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees. If enacted, the proposal, commonly referred to as “the overtime proposal,” would more than double the minimum salary for the white collar overtime exemption and would automatically update the salary levels on an annual basis.

A federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota Aug. 27 blocked implementation in 13 states of the“Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) final rule that was issued May 27 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The final rule, which dramatically expands the scope of federal authority over water and land uses across the country, is still effective as of Aug. 28 for the states not covered by the decision. 

ABC is encouraging all members to take action and submit comments to the Department of Labor (DOL) on how its Wage and Hour Division’s Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees proposed rulemaking, commonly referred to as “the overtime proposal,” will harm the construction industry and small businesses.

ABC Aug. 26 submitted comments urging the withdrawal of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Notice of Proposed Guidance (NPG) implementing President Obama’s “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order 13673, commonly referred to as the blacklisting proposal.

OSHA Aug. 4 released a guide titled, “Training Requirements in OSHA Standards,” that compiles information related to the agency’s mandatory safety and health training for workers into a 266-page document that is divided into five chapters, including one focused on construction safety training.

U.S. Senate committee leaders Aug. 6 urged the Obama administration to pull its “incomplete” guidance proposal to implement the Obama administration’s “blacklisting” Executive Order 13673 and suspend its related proposed rule until the entire proposal is completed. 

The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee recently released a set of memos from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps or USACE) to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that stated their concerns with the“Waters of the U.S.” rule (WOTUS). The rule dramatically expands the scope of federal authority over water and land uses across the country.  The rule has been finalized and is set to go into effect on Aug. 28.

OSHA July 29 issued a proposed rule clarifying an employer’s continuing obligation to make and maintain accurate records of reportable injuries and illnesses.