From category archives: ABC Academy & GA Articles

Includes articles relating to: Union Organizing, Workplace Safety, Immigration, HR Policy, Davis-Bacon, and NLRB

DOL’s Controversial Overtime Rule Blocked

On Nov. 22, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) burdensome and costly overtime final rule. The rule would have changed the federal exemptions to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act for administrative, executive and professional employees, the so—called "white collar" worker classifications that have long been exempt from time-and-one-half pay for working more than 40 hours per week. The new rule will not go into effect without further action from the court.
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ABC Praises Injunction Against Department of Labor’s Controversial Overtime Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 23 – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) welcomed news that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) burdensome and costly overtime final rule. Prior to the injunction, the rule was scheduled to go into effect on Dec. 1 and would have doubled the current minimum salary threshold for employees that are exempt from overtime pay and automatically increased it every three years. Read the rest of entry »

ABC Applauds Court’s Ruling to Permanently Block DOL’s Persuader Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 16 – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today welcomed news that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has permanently blocked the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) “persuader rule,” officially named the "Interpretation  of  the  ‘Advice’  Exemption  in  Section  203(c)  of  the  Labor-Management  Reporting  and  Disclosure  Act." In finding the rule unlawful, the District Court has maintained employers’ right to obtain advice from labor relations experts. Read the rest of entry »

Overtime Rule Goes into Effect Dec. 1st

On May 23, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule changing the federal exemptions to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act for so-called "white collar" workers, which include administrative, executive, professional and computer professional employees, that have long been exempt from being paid time-and-one-half for working more than 40 hours per week. The rule will essentially double the current minimum annual salary level for exemption from $23,660 to $47,476 per year effective Dec. 1, 2016. Read the rest of entry »

Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Against Blacklisting Final Rule

On Oct. 24, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prevents the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council from implementing the final blacklisting rule, officially titled Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces, which was scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 25. Read the rest of entry »

OSHA Further Delays Enforcement of Anti-Retaliation Provisions in Electronic Reporting Final Rule

On Oct. 18, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it agreed to further delay enforcement of the anti-retaliation provisions of OSHA’s final rule on Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses until Dec. 1st. Under the anti-retaliation provisions of the final rule, some forms of post-accident drug testing and accident-free incentive programs will be deemed unlawfully retaliatory.
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Associated Builders and Contractors Files Suit Against ‘Blacklisting’ Rule

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and its ABC Southeast Texas Chapter announced that they have filed a lawsuit challenging the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces final rule, commonly referred to as the “blacklisting” rule, which was released Aug. 25, 2016. The legal challenge was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division, by the Texas office of Littler Mendelson, P.C., ABC National’s general counsel. The firm will represent ABC, the ABC Southeast Texas Chapter and the National Association of Security Companies (NASCO) in the lawsuit. Read the rest of entry »

DOL Issues Paid Sick Leave Final Rule for Federal Contractors

On Sept. 30, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division issued a final rule requiring certain federal contractors to offer employees up to seven days (56 hours) of paid sick leave annually, including paid leave for family care.  The paid sick leave required by the final rule is in addition to a contractor’s obligations under the Service Contract Act (SCA) and Davis-Bacon Act (DBA).  Therefore, a contractor may not receive credit toward its prevailing wage or fringe benefit obligation under the SCA and DBA for paid sick leave provided in satisfaction of the requirements of the final rule.  Read the rest of entry »

ABC Files Suit Against DOL’s Overtime Rule

ABC and a coalition of business groups filed suit against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division’s costly and burdensome final overtime rule on Sept. 20. The legal challenge was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
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Minimum Wage Increasing for Workers on Covered Federal Contracts in January

Beginning Jan. 1, 2017, the minimum wage for workers on covered federal contracts and service contracts will increase to $10.20 per hour from $10.15 per hour in 2016. The increase is dictated by the Oct. 7, 2014, U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division final rule that implemented Executive Order 13658.
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