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On March 31, 2017, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) updated its Annual Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act Benchmark Database to reflect a new hiring benchmark of 6.7 percent.  The new benchmark is slightly lower than the previous year’s benchmark of 6.9 percent. 

On March 24, the U.S. Department of State signed a permit approving the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline, which would ship crude from Canada's western oil-sands region to refineries on the Gulf Coast. The memorandum invited TransCanada to re-submit its application for a presidential permit for the construction of the 1,600-mile pipeline and requested that the State Department reach

On March 10, 2017, the ABC-led Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) sent a letter to the acting secretary of Labor requesting that the department delay enforcement of OSHA’s final silica rule by one year, saying that “Construction employers across all trades are finding compliance extremely difficult if not impossible for many job tasks.” 

WASHINGTON, March 24—The Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) has concerns with the final rule on respirable crystalline silica released today by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It appears, upon initial review, that the 1,772-page final rule contains some of the same problematic provisions that the CISC previously identified and shared with the agency. CISC has been a highly engaged participant in the rulemaking process since OSHA put forth the proposed rule two and a half years ago.

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 4—Eight construction industry organizations filed a petition for review of the final crystalline silica rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today. Petitioning groups included: Mississippi Road Builders’ Association, American Subcontractors Association of Texas, Pelican Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Louisiana Associated General Contractors, Associated Masonry Contractors of Texas, Distribution Contractors Association, Mechanical Contractors Associations of Texas and Texas Association of Builders.

On March 22, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) held a confirmation hearing on the nomination of R. Alexander Acosta to serve as United States Secretary of labor. President Trump nominated Acosta to head the U.S. Department of Labor On Feb. 16. Acosta’s nomination must be approved by the HELP Committee before the full Senate can vote on his nomination. 

ABC today voiced its strong support for the Fair and Open Competition Act (S. 622). The bill, introduced by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), will reduce costs for taxpayers by encouraging all qualified construction companies to compete for federal and federally funded construction projects. S. 622 prevents federal agencies and recipients of federal funding from requiring contractors to sign controversial project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of winning federal or federally assisted construction contracts. 

ABC praised President Trump for issuing an executive order requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise the controversial Waters of theUnited States rule on Feb. 28. The rule had been previously been blocked under a nationwide stay issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to block implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) “Volks” final rule through the Congressional Review Act. The bill (H. J. Res. 83) was passed in a bi-partisan vote of 231-191.

ABC applauded the U.S. Senate for joining the U.S. House of Representatives in passing legislation (H.J. Res. 37) that will block implementation of the Obama administration’s controversial Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order 13673, commonly referred to as “blacklisting,” through the Congressional Review Act (CRA).