More than 900 ABC Members Urge DOL to Withdraw Proposed Overtime Rule

ABC and more than 900 members submitted comments in opposition to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division’s July 6 Proposed Regulations for Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees. If enacted, the proposal, commonly referred to as “the overtime proposal,” would more than double the minimum salary for the white collar overtime exemption and would automatically update the salary levels on an annual basis. 
Read the rest of entry »

ABC-Supported Bill to Provide Small Business Relief from ACA Signed into Law

The bill signed into law, the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees (PACE) Act (H.R. 1624/ S. 1099), will remove the ACA requirement that mandates states to expand the small group definition. As a member of the 50-100 Coalition, ABC urged Congress to pass the PACE Act in letters to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate as well as to individual members of Congress. 
Read the rest of entry »

Health Care Compliance Alert: Employer Mandate and New Reporting Requirements

As required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Department of Treasury (Treasury) Aug. 28 released draft information reporting form instructions that employers will use to report on the health coverage they offer their employees. This impacts employers with 50 or more full-time employees and full-time-equivalent employees as well as employers that self-insure. Effective 2015, employers must collect the information required to be reported under ACA and, beginning in 2016, file the information reporting returns with the IRS. Learn more by reading the update from Littler Mendelson, ABC’s general counsel.
Read the rest of entry »

Hourly Minimum Wage on Federal Contracts to Increase in January 2016

Beginning Jan. 1, 2016, the minimum wage for workers on covered federal contracts and service contracts will increase to $10.15 per hour from $10.10 per hour in 2015. The increase is dictated by the Oct. 7, 2014, Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division final rule that implemented Executive Order 13658. 
Read the rest of entry »

OFCCP Issues Final Pay Transparency Rule for Federal Contractors

On Sept. 10, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued its final rule prohibiting federal contractors and subcontractors from terminating or otherwise discriminating against employees who discuss their compensation with co-workers or job applicants. This rule implements the Obama administration’s Equal Pay initiative under Executive Order 13665 and will take effect on Jan. 11, 2016.
Read the rest of entry »

White House Issues Paid Sick Leave Executive Order Targeting Federal Contractors

At a Labor Day rally before union members in Boston on Sept. 7, President Obama unveiled a new executive order requiring federal contractors to offer employees up to seven days of paid sick leave. The proposal covers all employees working on contracts subject to the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act.

Read the rest of entry »

NLRB Uproots Decades-Old Standards in Joint Employer Ruling

ABC released a statement in response to the National Labor Relations Board’s Aug. 27 ruling in the Browning-Ferris Industries of California case, which redefines who qualifies as a “joint employer” under the National Labor Relations Act. ABC has been a vocal opponent of these changes for potentially imposing unnecessary barriers to and burdens on contractor and subcontractor relationships throughout the construction industry. 
Read the rest of entry »

OSHA Issues New Employer Recordkeeping Proposal

OSHA July 29 issued a proposed rule clarifying an employer’s continuing obligation to make and maintain accurate records of reportable injuries and illnesses.
Read the rest of entry »

Labor Department Issues New Guidance Targeting Worker Misclassification

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released new guidance July 15 related to employers’ use of independent contractors. In the Administrator’s Interpretation and an accompanying blog post, Wage and Hour Division Administrator Dr. David Weil laments the “problematic trend” of deliberate misclassification, and considers the guidance part of a “multi-pronged approach” to combat the phenomenon.
Read the rest of entry »

Appeals Court Upholds Idaho Law Banning Government-Mandated PLAs

ABC and ABC’s Inland Pacific Chapter celebrated a victory Sept. 16 when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit set aside a lower court’s decision against an Idaho law that banned government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on taxpayer-funded construction projects.
Read the rest of entry »