Newsline

On June 25, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a compliance directive designed to ensure uniformity in inspection and enforcement procedures when addressing respirable crystalline silica exposures in general industry, maritime and construction.

On June 8, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published its final rule on the Fluctuating Workweek Method of Computing Overtime in the Federal Register. The rule will go into effect on Aug. 7, 2020.

In an ABC member survey conducted May 20-June 3, 80% of survey responses indicated their firm had applied for and received loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.

In March, the AFL-CIO sued the National Labor Relations Board to block its 2019 final election rule, officially known as Representation-Case Procedures, which would modify procedures for union elections and scale back provisions of the Obama-era “ambush” election rule. On May 30, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocked several aspects of the NLRB’s 2019 final rule, which were scheduled to go into effect on May 31.

On May 19, President Trump signed the Executive Order, “Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery,” which encourages federal agencies to review burdensome regulations in order to jumpstart the economy and get Americans back to work.

ABC and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce appreciate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to provide clarification to the interpretation of the term “begin actual construction” in regulations implementing the major New Source Review permitting program, they wrote in a May 11 letter.

A new PPP FAQ was released on the good-faith certification, which would clarify that borrowers with loans of less than $2 million are deemed to have made the certification in good faith.

On April 30, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration published a rule extending deadlines under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code for group health plans, disability and other welfare plans, pension plans and participants and beneficiaries of these plans during the COVID-19 national emergency.

On April 17, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs issued guidance to increase accountability and efficiency in its enforcement and to maximize the effectiveness of compliance assistance resources to assist contractors in meeting their responsibilities.

On April 8, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration expanded temporary guidance provided in a March 14, 2020, memorandum regarding supply shortages of N95s or other filtering facepiece respirators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.