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 July 18, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued an interim final rule that will adjust monetary-based small business size standards for inflation to allow more small businesses to become eligible for the SBA’s loan and contracting programs.

Chuck Goodrich, president of Gaylor Electric, Inc., explained the Trump administration’s regulatory rollback is giving construction companies more efficiency and they don’t feel like they are “under attack” from the federal government. According to Goodrich’s presentation, experts say President Trump is on pace to put out fewer rules than the “reigning deregulation champion,” President Ronald Reagan.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed ABC-supported legislation to mitigate the impact of certain costly and burdensome regulations on Sept. 21. The Require Evaluation before Implementing Executive Wishlists (REVIEW) Act of 2016 (H.R. 3438) passed by a bipartisan vote of 244-180. The bill was introduced by Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.) and cosponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).

On Jan. 20, ABC submitted comments in response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration proposed rule which seeks to update the equal opportunity regulations that implement the National Apprenticeship Act of 1937 by amending 29 CFR Part 30. Current regulations prohibit discrimination in registered apprenticeship programs on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, and sex. The proposed rule updates the equal opportunity standards to include age (40 or older), genetic information, sexual orientation and disability among the protected base that cannot be discriminated a

On Sept. 14, ABC, along with a coalition of nearly 400 business groups sent a letter to U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Ranking Member Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) urging them to support the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015 (S. 2006).

President Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order 13673, known as the “blacklisting” EO, was signed July 31, 2014. A proposed rulemaking issued May 28, by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council and proposed guidance by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) implementing the blacklisting EO is open for public comment until July 27.

The Departments of Homeland Security and Labor released two H-2B regulations April 29 that will affect employers utilizing the H-2B program. The regulations include a final rule determining the wage methodology for temporary non-agricultural workers under the H-2B visa program, and an interim final rule (IFR) that includes a new employer registration process, increased recruitment and oversight, requirements for guaranteed pay, additional fees, and similar payment for corresponding U.S. workers.

In addition to the OSHA and federal contracting regulations, the latest regulatory agenda, released Nov. 21, outlines the Department of Labor’s (DOL) plan to move forward with the controversial persuader rule and overtime requirements among other important rules affecting the construction industry.

Federal Contractors should be on the lookout for a number of items listed in the latest regulatory agenda, released Nov. 21, which lists the priorities of the administration and the rulemakings they expect to release this year.