On March 6, Vice President Kamala Karris and U.S. Department of Labor Acting Secretary Julie Su announced in Madison, Wisconsin, President Joe Biden’s new Executive Order on Scaling and Expanding the Use of Registered Apprenticeships in Industries and the Federal Government and Promoting Labor-Management Forums with the stated goal of expanding the usage of government-registered apprenticeship programs by the federal government.

On Jan. 17, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor published a proposed rule that would make significant and controversial revisions to the National Apprenticeship System, which will affect ABC members, chapters, apprentices and other industry stakeholders participating in government-registered apprenticeship programs. Take action now by submitting comments through ABC’s Action Center and app to tell the DOL to withdraw or improve this costly new rule!

On March 5, ABC, its Southeast Texas chapter and additional plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas arguing that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act final rule is unlawful and a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The rule goes into effect on March 11.

On March 1, the U.S. Department of Labor sent its Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees final rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget for final review. The rule would alter overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The review at the OIRA is usually the final step in the process before a rule is officially published in the Federal Register. ABC will be meeting with the OIRA to express its serious concerns about the rule.

On Feb. 26, ABC joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and eight other groups in submitting comments to the U.S. Department of Defense on its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program proposed rule, which would require federal contractors and subcontractors competing for DOD contracts to demonstrate continued compliance with a range of cybersecurity measures in order to maintain eligibility for performing and winning new federal awards.

As part of a legal challenge against the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer final rule, a federal judge in Texas delayed the final rule’s effective date from Feb. 26 to March 11. The new standard will only be applied to cases filed after the rule becomes effective.

Per the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, upload your OSHA 300A form electronically by March 2 if your NAICS code begins with 23 and you have 20 or more employees in an establishment. New additional requirements for 2024, if your NACIS code begins with 2381 and you have 100 or more employees in an establishment, you must upload your OSHA 300 log (after removing data from column B) and the OSHA 301 form for each recordable incident (after removing data from field 1, 2, 6 and 7).

The National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer rule will go into effect on Feb. 26. The new standard, opposed by ABC, will only be applied to cases filed after the rule becomes effective.

ABC is conducting an important survey of contractor members and chapter staff to gauge opinions on the U.S Department of Labor’s controversial proposed rule, which significantly overhauls regulations for government-registered apprenticeship programs. Ensuring as many members and chapters as possible respond to this survey will be vital so ABC can provide effective, informed comments that seek regulatory clarity and push back against concerning aspects of the DOL’s proposed rule. ABC has extended the survey deadline to Feb. 22 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

On Feb. 6, 2024, ABC and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to two congressional committees urging them to use their oversight authority to rein in the National Labor Relations Board and its general counsel for creating significant tension between federal antidiscrimination law and federal labor law. The letter was sent in light of a recent supplemental decision in the Amazon.com Services LLC v. Gerald Bryson case, in which the NLRB held that Amazon illegally fired a worker who was verbally attacking a co-worker while on strike.