On Feb. 28, congressional Democrats reintroduced the ABC-opposed Protecting the Right to Organize Act (HR 20) in the 118th Congress. The bill is a wish list of radical labor policies that would infringe on workers and employers’ rights, diminish opportunities for entrepreneurs and small business owners and devastate the economy. The ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is leading opposition to the bill.

On Feb. 27, ABC, along with members of the Waters Advocacy Coalition, penned a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee supporting H.J. Res 27, the Congressional Review Act disapproval of the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers’ 2023 revised Waters of the United States regulation.

A Notice of Funding Opportunity for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s fiscal year 2023 Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant program is set to close for applications on Feb. 28.

On Feb. 16, 24 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers seeking to overturn the final rule published by the agencies on Jan. 18 that revises the definition of Waters of the United States.

On Feb. 15, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration released its final rule establishing the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program.

On Feb. 9, the Office of Management and Budget released a proposed rule to revise OMB’s Guidance for Grants and Agreements. This guidance defines the rules for federal agencies as they distribute funding through grant programs. The revisions would aid implementation of the Build America, Buy America Act provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

On Feb. 13, ABC submitted comments to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council regarding a proposed rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require certain federal contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas emissio

On Feb. 8, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed an amicus brief in a case against Starbucks that is currently before the National Labor Relations Board, condemning the NLRB general counsel’s efforts to eliminate employer speech rights in union organizing drives as well as employees’ right to secret ballots in union representation elections. On Feb. 9, the CDW and four employer organizations filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in a case against Tesla over facially neutral dress code policies.

On Feb. 9, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2023-1, “Telework Under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Family and Medical Leave Act,” which provides guidance to WHD field staff on how to ensure teleworking employees are properly paid and protected under the FLSA and how to apply eligibility rules under the FMLA.

On Feb. 14, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it will withdraw its proposal to reconsider and revoke final approval of Arizona’s state plan for occupational safety and health. As a result, the state’s plan will remain in place.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recently announced a series of virtual compliance seminars to provide information on prevailing wage requirements for federally funded construction and service contracts. The seminars will include video trainings with corresponding virtual question and answer sessions.

On Jan. 4, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a proposed rule that would increase certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees charged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. ABC is working with the H-2B Coalition to highlight the burden this proposal will place on contractors and other businesses that rely on critical visa programs to support their wo

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is promoting its Workplace Stress Safety and Health Topics page as a resource to help support workforce mental well-being. The webpage offers guidance to employers on how they can alleviate stress and shares outreach materials, including posters, with tips on how employers and workers can work t

Safety rules affect safety culture. Seeking workforce input on procedures is vital to creating that culture, as a key component to ensure safety goals are attained is workforce engagement. When developing or updating a safety program, you must ask your team for input, suggestions and feedback to ensure buy-in, understanding and adherence. Learn how to communicate both universal and situational safety rules and policies.

Recently, federal agencies have taken a number of actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the construction industry. ABC continues to track these initiatives while participating in the regulatory process to ensure that the need to protect our environment is accomplished without imposing unnecessarily costly and burdensome requirements on the construction industry. 

On Feb. 2, ABC submitted comments to the National Labor Relations Board opposing its proposed rule on Representation-Case Procedures, which addresses election-blocking charges, voluntary recognition and construction industry bargaining relationships. The proposal rescinds the ABC-supported 2020 NLRB final rule, which was intended to “better protect employees’ statutory right of free choice on questions concerning representation.”

On Feb. 2, the Federal Trade Commission announced it will host a public forum examining the FTC’s proposed rule to prohibit employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers.

Planning for a successful safety program starts with setting goals, implementing proper recordkeeping procedures and ensuring documentation is correct. ABC's STEP Safety Management System provides the framework to drive improvements in construction safety programs through recordkeeping and benchmarking in 25 key components. Discover four helpful tips for submitting OSHA incident data. 

In response to the Defense Industrial Base becoming the target of more frequent and complex cyberattacks from foreign and independent bad actors, the U.S. Department of Defense is expected to release new cybersecurity regulations in 2023 designed to enforce protection of sensitive federal contract information and controlled unclassified information that is shared by the DOD with

On Jan. 31, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 497, the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, by a bipartisan vote of 227-203. ABC supported the legislation, which would eliminate the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate on health care workers and repeal the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services health care staff vaccination rule that continues to affect ABC members who perform construction work at health care facilities. ABC provided a statement in support of the bill ahead of passage.

The Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny Act of 2023, or REINS Act, was recently reintroduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.). The bill, which would require every new “major rule” proposed by federal agencies to be approved by both the House and U.S. Senate before going into effect, currently has 179 Republican co-sponsors.

On Jan. 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced opportunities for public input on new programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act that affect states, developers and builders. The IRA, opposed by ABC, was signed into law on Aug. 16, 2022.

Representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are hosting a webinar on Thursday, Feb. 2, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET, to give an overview of the agency’s recordkeeping requirements and Injury Tracking Application.

On Jan. 31, 100 organizations, including ABC, signed a letter urging the Federal Trade Commission to extend the comment period for its proposed rulemaking on banning noncompete agreements for an additional 60 days. The groups argued that the regulated community should be given sufficient time to assess the potential consequences of the rulemaking and develop insightful comm

On Jan. 9, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a press release reminding certain employers that the deadline to submit the calendar year 2022 Form 300A is March 2.