The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals placed a nationwide stay  on the Obama Administration’s controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) final rule on Oct. 9. The final rule, issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) May 27, greatly expands the Administration’s jurisdiction over water and land uses across the country under the Clean Water Act.

On Oct. 9, the ABC-led Construction Industry Safety Coalition submitted comments in response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Request for Information (RFI) on Chemical Management and Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs). The RFI asked stakeholders how the agency should consider approaching health standard rulemaking, such as managing chemical exposures in workplaces.

On Sept. 17, ABC joined with 20 coalition partners in sending a letter to key U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate committees urging their support for three bills that would provide small businesses with relief from rising health costs and regulatory red tape. The bills discussed in the letter include the following. 

Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, the minimum wage for workers on covered federal contracts and service contracts will increase to $10.15 per hour from $10.10 per hour in 2015. The increase is dictated by the Oct. 7, 2014, Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division final rule that implemented Executive Order 13658.

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.