The National Labor Relations Board has petitioned for re-hearings in both courts that struck down its August 2011 “Notification of Employee Rights” rule. Under the rule, employers would have been required to display a poster in their workplace that contained a biased and incomplete list of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act. 

The U.S. Senate voted July 30 in favor of five presidential nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). They included new members Nancy Schiffer (D) and Kent Hirozawa (D), as well as NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce (D), who was reconfirmed. Two Republicans, Harry Johnson III (R), Philip Miscimarra (R), were also confirmed by voice vote. 

After Thomas E. Perez was sworn in as the new Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) July 23, ABC sent a letter congratulating him on his confirmation and asking him to consider ABC’s concerns regarding DOL initiatives. 

The U.S. House of Representatives July 25 passed in a bipartisan vote of 265-155 to pass the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act (H.R. 2218), which would establish a baseline for coal combustion residuals (CCR) disposal while maximizing flexibility for individual states. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit agreed with two other courts July 17 by ruling the president violated the Constitution when he bypassed the U.S. Senate to make recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). 

As part of a the Coalition for Fair Effective Tax Rates, ABC will be advocating for the use of effective tax rates—or the percentage of income businesses pay in taxes—as the clearest way to judge the impact of tax reform on businesses as Congress tackles this issue. 

According to OSHA’s latest semiannual regulatory agenda, released July 3, the agency plans to issue two new proposals related to recordkeeping and cranes and derricks in construction. The regulatory agenda lists the priorities of the administration and the rulemakings they expect to release this year; however, OSHA is not required to adhere to the timeline.

The EPA continues to move forward with a potential rulemaking that would expand the existing Lead Paint Renovation and Repair and Painting rule to include public and commercial buildings. The proposed rulemaking, which likely would regulate renovation, repair and painting activities on and in public and commercial buildings to address possible lead-based paint hazards, is listed on EPA’s regulatory agenda for July 2015.

On July 12, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued revised guidance under the hours of service (HOS) rules for how commercial drivers should record and take breaks.

The DOL announced in its July 3 regulatory agenda that it will be indefinitely suspending previous wage calculation methods for H-2B temporary worker visas – which have been blocked both in federal courts and on Capitol Hill – and moving forward with its “emergency” interim final rule issued in April in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. The interim final rule became effective April 24, when it was issued.