September is Suicide Prevention Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the construction industry has the highest rate of suicide, as well as the highest number of suicides among all industries. This is a public health crisis, and ABC is committed to doing better for our workforce and their families.

What defines the best of the best? ABC’s Top Performers lists—the only rankings of their kind—recognize member contractors’ achievements in safety, quality, diversity, project excellence and special designations, ranked by work hours. You must achieve STEP Gold or higher and earn the Accredited Quality Contractor designation to qualify—applications are due by Nov. 1 for consideration in the rankings.

On Sept. 12, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service will hold a webcast providing employers with compliance assistance on the joint final rule on health reimbursement arrangements.  

On Aug. 26, ABC submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule on apprenticeship programs, which initially excludes the construction industry and the military from provisions intended to expand apprenticeships and close America’s skills gap.

On Aug. 15, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration published a  Request for Information seeking comment on Table 1 of the agency’s Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for Construction. 

On Aug. 12, the National Labor Relations Board published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled Representation-Case Procedures: Election Bars; Proof of Majority Support in Construction Industry Collective-Bargaining Relationships, which proposes amendments to the representation election regulations. 

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs recently published several compliance assistance guides to provide federal contractors with resources on recordkeeping, postings and notices, technical assistance and more.

Last week, ABC’s Vice President of HSE and Workforce Development, Greg Sizemore, made a presentation to the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee on the importance of continuing workforce development reforms at the state level.

On June 25, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule on apprenticeship programs that would establish a process for creating high-quality, industry-recognized apprenticeship programs by organizations that apply to become DOL recognized Standards Recognition Entities. DOL’s new release on the proposal is available here.  

On July 31, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration issued a final rule that would allow small and mid-sized businesses to band together and offer 401(k) plans to their employees through Association Retirement Plans. The final rule goes into effect Sept. 30, 2019.