On March 21, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed the ABC-supported H.J. Res. 116, the Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the U.S. Department of Labor’s independent contractor final rule, in a 21-13 vote with all Republicans present voting in support. Ahead of the markup, ABC sent a letter in support of the resolution and urged committee members to report it for a full House vote.

Learn more about the 2024 final rule. Also, watch the ABC-members only archived webinar in the Academy, "Learn What the DOL's Final Independent Contractor Rule Means for ABC Members."

On March 6, ABC sent a key vote letter to the U.S. Senate urging Senators to support the U.S. House of Representatives-passed H.J. Res. 98, Joint Employer CRA resolution of disapproval. If enacted, H.J. Res. 98 would not only prevent the rule from going into effect but would also prohibit a similar rule from being issued in the future.

In October 2023, the National Labor Relations Board released their ABC-opposed joint employer final rule. The final rule rescinds and replaces the ABC-supported 2020 NLRB joint employer final rule, which provided clear criteria for companies to apply when determining their joint employer status. ABC believes the new joint employer final rule will drastically alter existing contractor and subcontractor relationships in the construction industry, implementing a harsh new standard that will complicate this long-standing business arrangement and hit many smaller contractors with unsustainable legal and compliance costs.

On Jan. 12, the House passed H.J. Res 98 in a 206-177 vote, with 8 Democrats supporting. The resolution faces a more uncertain path in the Senate where a simple majority is needed to pass. Although President Biden has vowed to veto the resolution, passage in the House and Senate would send a strong message to the administration as they continue to implement harmful labor policies.

On March 6, Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the DOL’s new Independent Contractor final rule.

ABC sent a letter to members of the House and Senate expressing support for the CRA resolution. ABC also joined with a coalition of business organizations drafting a letter of support for the CRA resolution.

The resolution faces an uphill battle to passage in both chambers and a likely veto from the President, however, ABC remains committed to ensuring that this issue remains a priority for Congress this session.

Learn more about this issue, including ABC’s lawsuit, above and in Newsline here.

This week, the House will vote on H.J. Res. 98, a resolution to block the National Labor Relations Board’s new joint employer rule. ABC issued a key vote in support of the resolution and against the new rule that has faced opposition from ABC and a number of the nation’s major business groups.

The final rule, set to take effect in February, rescinds and replaces the ABC-supported 2020 NLRB joint employer final rule, which provided clear criteria for companies to apply when determining their joint employer status, and will disrupt existing contractor and subcontractor relationships throughout the construction industry. The resolution is expected to pass the House with at least some bipartisan support and Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., have been leading the effort to defeat the NLRB rule in the upper chamber.

On Dec. 13, ABC sent a letter to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce prior to its markup of key bills impacting the construction industry.

The letter highlights ABC’s support for H.R. 6655, the bipartisan A Stronger Workforce for America Act, which would reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act for the first time since 2014 and includes several ABC-backed provisions that support an all-of-the-above approach to workforce development, ensures more dollars for tangible worker programs, better aligns programs with in-demand jobs, and allows for better evaluation of WIOA programs. ABC also supported the committee’s markup of H.J. Res. 98, a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the Biden administrations harmful joint employer final rule, and H.R. 3400, the Small Business Before Bureaucrats Act, to modernize the National Labor Relations Board’s decades old jurisdictional standards to exempt more small businesses from their regulatory overreach. ABC’s letter also expresses concerns with H.R. 6585, the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act, which, while seeking to expand Pell Grants to high-quality, short-term workforce programs, could exclude some vital construction workforce education and upskilling programs.

ABC also joined with the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace to comment on the Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing. The hearing examined the ABC-supported Employee Rights Act (H.R. 2700), Modern Worker Empowerment Act (H.R. 5513), and Save Local Business Act (H.R. 2826), which are designed to protect workers, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the economy from a rogue National Labor Relations Board.

Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., was joined by 22 of his colleagues in the House in the introduction of a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the Biden administration inflationary Davis Bacon rule. ABC led a coalition of construction organizations in support for the CRA and continues to urge members to cosponsor the CRA. Last week, ABC also announced the filing of a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s controversial final rule, and you can read more in ABC’s press release on the challenge.

On April 18, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote to override President Joe Biden’s veto of H.J. Res. 27, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers’ 2023 revised Waters of the United States regulation. ABC has key voted today’s vote and issued an action alert.

President Biden vetoed H.J. Res. 27, which passed both chambers of Congress with strong bipartisan support. While the override is unlikely to garner the 2/3 vote of the chamber required, this resolution rebukes the Biden administration’s flawed, burdensome and overreaching WOTUS rule that will result in sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to regulate what is considered a navigable water, with enormous impacts on small businesses, developers and contractors. The Biden WOTUS rule is set to cause building delays due to regulatory uncertainty, increased permitting and mitigation costs, and make it more difficult and expensive to grow food, produce energy and build critical infrastructure for the 21st century.

On March 9, the House passed H.J. Res. 27, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers 2023 revised Waters of the United States regulation. ABC key voted the resolution which passed by a bipartisan 227-198 vote, with nine Democrats joining Republicans in support and only one Republican, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, opposing.

The Biden Administration’s flawed, burdensome, and overreaching WOTUS rule will result in sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to regulate what is considered a navigable water, with enormous impacts on small businesses, developers and contractors. The rule will cause building delays due to regulatory uncertainty, plus increased permitting and mitigation costs.

On March 9, the House is scheduled to consider H.J. Res. 27, a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers 2023 revised Waters of the United States regulation.

The Biden Administration’s flawed, burdensome, and overreaching WOTUS rule will result in sweeping changes to the federal government’s authority to regulate what is considered a navigable water, with enormous impacts on small businesses, developers and contractors. The rule will cause building delays due to regulatory uncertainty, plus increased permitting and mitigation costs.

On Feb. 27, ABC joined broad coalition of industry stakeholders in support of the CRA during committee consideration, and will be key voting this resolution for our scorecard on the 118th Congress.