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ABC is concerned about a proposal from the Biden administration that will increase the number of contractors subject to electronic safety data submission requirements and carry risks for exposing confidential business information by posting parts of the submissions on a public website.
On March 28, the White House released the president’s $5.8 trillion budget for the next fiscal year, which renews calls for tax hikes to support Democrats’ federal spending priorities in the coming years.
On Feb. 17, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a proposed rule to make amendments to the Agriculture Acquisition Regulation, which includes new labor law compliance certifications and reporting provisions that present wide-ranging implications for ABC members that perform work on federal contracts awarded under the AGAR. On March 21, ABC submitted comments urging the USDA to withdraw the proposal.
On March 15, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s efforts to delay and rescind the Trump administration’s 2021 independent contractor final rule. Under a decision applauded by ABC, which had sued to block those actions, the ABC-supported
On March 7, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C., wrote letters to the White House in opposition to President Biden’s executive order 14063 requiring federal construction contracts of $35 million or more to be subjected to project labor agreements.
On Feb. 23, ABC and a coalition of 19 associations and organizations representing the construction industry and business community sent Congress a letter of support for the Fair and Open Competition Act (S. 403/
On Feb. 4, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4521, he America COMPETES Act by a vote of 222-210. The ABC-opposed bill is filled with anti-competitive provisions that would impose harmful labor policies, includ
On Feb. 7, ABC, as a member of the Waters Advocacy Coalition, filed comments on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposed rule to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” applicable to all Clean Water Act programs. The rule would repeal
On Feb. 4, President Biden signed Executive Order 14063, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects, which mandates the use of PLAs on federal construction projects of $35 million or more in value.
On Feb. 7, the Biden administration’s White House Task Force On Worker Organizing And Empowerment issued its report on how to boost union membership in the federal government and public and private sectors.
On Jan. 26, ABC, as a steering committee member of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Heat Injury and
On Jan. 26, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it is withdrawing its COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applied to employers with 100
On Jan. 13, ABC applauded the U.S. Supreme Court for reinstating the stay on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applies to employers with 100 or more employees. On behalf of the construction industry, ABC filed one of the emergency appeals to the Supreme Court leading to this successful
On Jan. 13, ABC applauded the U.S. Supreme Court for reinstating the stay on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applies to employers with 100 or more employees. On behalf of the construction industry, ABC filed one of the emergency appeals to the Supreme Court leading to this successful outcome.
As of this writing, the Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision on the appeal to reinstitute a stay of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applies to employers with 100 or more employees.
Three different federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates issued under the Biden administration continue to be challenged in the courts. Read the important developments on the federal contractor, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services and Occupational Safety and Health Administration vaccination mandates.
On Dec. 17, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the 5th Circuit’s stay of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applies to employers with 100 or more employees.
On Dec. 15, the House and Senate passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act, following negotiations to ensure passage of the bill before the end of the year. Notably, the NDAA agreement removed several harmful labor provisions opposed by ABC from the previous version of the bill passed only in the House.
On Dec. 10, the Biden administration released its Fall 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory actions from each agency that the administration expects to publish through the end of the year and into 2022. ABC has prepared a summary of the actions of interest to ABC members by agency.
Courts have blocked three different federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates issued under the Biden administration. Since the court orders staying the different federal mandates are at this time only preliminary, it is premature to say the threat posed by the federal mandates is past. It appears the mandates will be at a minimum delayed, but there will inevitably be appeals, perhaps up to the Supreme Court. There are also many private, state and local mandates that are not affected by these court rulings.
On Dec. 7, ABC applauded a Georgia federal court for granting a nationwide preliminary injunction order against the federal contractor vaccine mandate.
On Dec. 7, the House of Representatives passed a finalized version of the $768 billion National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 363 to 70. The compromise bill, negotiated by the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, incorporates elements of the version that passed the House in September and legislation approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee in July.
Recently, courts have blocked three different federal vaccination mandates issued under the Biden administration. Read the important developments on the federal contractor, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services and Occupational Safety and Health Administration vaccination mandates.
On Nov. 22, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued its final rule implementing President Biden’s Executive Order 14026, Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors, which applies to all workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts. The minimum wage will increase to $15 per hour beginning Jan, 30, 2
On Nov. 16, via lottery, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit was chosen to hear challenges to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, which applies to employers with 100 or more employees. This development follows the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit’s Nov. 12 stay order and OSHA’s announcement that it has suspended activities related to the impl