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.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and the U.S. Department of Labor issued a second extension for submitting comments on the proposal implementing President Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order 13673, commonly referred to as the “blacklisting” executive order, by 15 days to Aug. 26. The extension comes as a result of Republican leaders of three congressional committees requesting an extension of the comment period.

ABC filed a letter July 23 with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) requesting an extension of the comment period on the department’s Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees proposed rulemaking. Commonly referred to as “the overtime proposal,” the notice of proposed rulemaking was issued June 30. 

On Aug. 3, President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final Clean Power Plan, which will cut power plant carbon emissions 32 percent below 2005 levels, by 2030. The rule is among several released by EPA that will increase compliance and transaction costs while creating uncertainty for America’s small businesses.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the ABC-supported Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act of 2015 (H.R. 427) July 28. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and was cosponsored by an additional 171 representatives. 

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the ABC-supported Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Act of 2015 (H.R.1734) July 22. The bill was sponsored by Rep. David McKinley (R-W. Va.) and was cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 44 representatives. 

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released new guidance July 15 related to employers’ use of independent contractors. In the Administrator’s Interpretation and an accompanying blog post, Wage and Hour Division Administrator Dr. David Weil laments the “problematic trend” of deliberate misclassification, and considers the guidance part of a “multi-pronged approach” to combat the phenomenon.