Many ABC members were greeted with a significant tax increase this tax day, April 15. Construction contractors who survived the recession already paid the highest effective tax rate of any sector, and now they face even higher taxes thanks to rising marginal rates, reinstated limits on deductions, and new surtaxes on wages and income stemming from the health care law.

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Thomas Perez faced tough questions from House appropriators on two ABC-opposed Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) actions at an April 2 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee hearing.

To coincide with Equal Pay Day, President Obama April 8 issued two executive actions dealing with equal pay for women, specifically prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against employees who discuss their compensation with fellow employees and requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to submit compensation data to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). 

ABC and more than 1,200 members filed comments requesting the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) withdraw its controversial“ambush” election proposed rule. In addition, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed comments against the proposed rule with support from more than 140 local organizations, including over 40 ABC chapters.

ABC today celebrated an important decision limiting the scope of the Davis-Bacon Act issued by a U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  In a March 31 decision granting summary judgment to the District of Columbia (the District) and private developer CCDC Office LLC (CCDC), Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejected the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) unprecedented ruling that the Davis-Bacon Act can be expanded to include privately funded projects.

The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate March 27 introduced three bills to reverse key elements of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) contentious “ambush election” rule. The NLRB’s proposed rule dramatically shortens the amount of time between when a union files a representation petition and when an election takes place to as few as 10 days in addition to requiring employers to submit their employees’ personal contact information to union organizers.

The ABC-led Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) testified in front of OSHA March 24 on a proposed rule that would drastically lower the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of respirable crystalline silica for the construction industry.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)  two recently finalized rules go into effect March 24, 2014. The rules drastically alter federal contractors’ existing affirmative action and nondiscrimination obligations with respect to veterans and individuals with disabilities.

On March 10, the Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final rules on information reporting by applicable large employers on health insurance coverage offered under employer-sponsored plans and information reporting of minimum essential coverage. The final regulations relate to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer and insurer information reporting requirements under Internal Revenue Code sections 6055 and 6056.

More than 900 ABC members joined ABC in submitting comments to OSHA requesting it withdraw a proposed rule that would require employers to electronically submit detailed injury and illness records to the agency that would be made available to the public through an online database.