Federal Contractors should be on the lookout for a number of items listed in the latest regulatory agenda, released Nov. 21, which lists the priorities of the administration and the rulemakings they expect to release this year. 

OSHA’s latest semiannual regulatory agenda was released on Nov. 2. It lists the priorities of the administration and the rulemakings they expect to release this year.

As a part of The Partnership for a Better Energy Future (the Partnership), ABC and other business organizations representing more than 80% of the U.S. economy, submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) arguing that itsproposed power plant rule, also known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP), is not compatible with numerous practical and technical aspects of America’s electricity system. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued two surveys soliciting comments from the construction industry on the potential use of project labor agreements (PLA) on projects in Illinois and Nevada. 

This week ABC joined more than 500 industry groups in sending letters to the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives urging action during the Lame Duck session of Congress on the extension of important tax provisions that have already expired or will expire by the end of the year. 

ABC and 19 other business trade groups, sent a letter on Nov. 6 requesting that President Obama withdraw the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order (E.O.). The letter, sent to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Thomas Perez and Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz, outlines ABC’s concerns that the E.O. dramatically changes the enforcement mechanisms carefully put in place by Congress and needlessly adds uncertainty, subjectivity and onerous and costly new data collection and reporting requirements for federal contractors. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Oct. 23 issued a directive for OSHA compliance personnel on how to enforce its 2010 standard for construction cranes and derricks. The directive, which covers jobsites where power-operated equipment covered by Subpart CC – Cranes and Derricks in Construction are present, provides guidance for OSHA inspectors on how to conduct site visits, interpret the rule, and decide when to issue citations.  

ABC strongly opposed a new executive order (EO) that will harm federal contractors, taxpayers and government procurement officials at an Oct. 13, 2014, White House listening session with major employer association representatives, businesses and Obama administration officials.

On Oct. 14, ABC submitted comments to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requesting it withdraw a proposed rule and supplemental notice that would require employers to electronically submit detailed injury and illness records to the agency. For the first time, OSHA plans to make this information publically available on the Internet through a new searchable database and use the data for enforcement purposes.

On Oct. 7, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division issued a final rule to implement Executive Order 13658, which would establish an hourly minimum wage of $10.10 for workers performing on covered federal construction and service contracts.