ABC announced its support of S. 904, the Voluntary Protection Program Act (S. 904), introduced by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wy).  S. 904 would make the Department of Labor’s Voluntary Protection Program a permanent program.

On May 21, ABC submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division on its proposal to update and revise the 2016 “white collar” overtime exemption regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

On May 14, the U.S. Department of Labor announced an extension of the comment periods of its regular rate and joint employer proposals to June 12, 2019, and June 25, 2019, respectively.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs launched a new webpage with resources for contractors who may undergo an OFCCP compliance check.

On May 8, ABC submitted a letter to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee regarding the hearing, “Paid Family and Medical Leave: Helping Workers and Employers Succeed.” In the letter, ABC expressed concern over proposed legislation that would mandate employers to provide 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave funded through a new payroll tax on employers and employees.

On May 9, the White House held a summit on protecting Americans from surprise medical billing, which occurs when insured patients incur unexpected charges after receiving treatment from out-of-network health care providers. On April 2, ABC joined a broad-based coalition in a letter to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions to hold a hearing to examine surprise billing.

In light of a recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, certain employers will be required for the first time to submit detailed data on employee compensation and hours worked (or Component-2 data) to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as part of their annual EEO-1 form submission by Sept. 30, 2019.

ABC hosted a golf tournament May 6 to benefit Folds of Honor, a charitable organization that Major Dan Rooney established 12 years ago to provide educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members. Since 2017, ABC’s tournament has raised $375,000 for Folds of Honor.

ABC has added Massachusetts Chapter member Brian Renaud of The Contractors Plan to the Beam Club Presidential level and Greater Houston Chapter member Terry Buza of Slack & Co. Contracting Inc. to the Beam Club Hall of Fame level.

On April 25, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that covered employers will be required for the first time to submit detailed data on employee compensation and hours worked (or Component-2 data) to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as part of their annual EEO-1 form submission by Sept. 30, 2019. The court ordered EEOC to collect this data for calendar year 2018. Covered employers should be aware that Component-1 data is still due by May 31, 2019.