ABC has now launched the CHIPS Act—Resources and Guidance for Contractors webpage to assist contractors in competing for projects utilizing the nearly $50 billion in direct federal funding and additional tax credits in support of restoring U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and improving the semiconductor supply chain.

On Sept. 26, ABC, as a steering committee member of the Coalition for Workplace Safety, and 40 other employer organizations sent a letter to the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections calling out the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for its Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process proposed rulemaking and the politicization of the agency that the rulemaking exemplifies. The proposed rule would allow an employee to choose a third-party representative, such as an outside union representative, to accompany an OSHA inspector into nonunion facilities.

ABC has prepared a summary of Biden administration regulatory actions of interest to ABC members by agency.

On Sept. 29, ABC submitted comments with a coalition of industry stakeholders to the Council on Environmental Quality in response to a proposed rule regarding Phase 2 of revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act implementing regulations. The proposal would make wide-ranging changes that will add unnecessarily burdensome and costly provisions to the federal environmental review and permitting process.

Without a deal to pass a stop-gap funding measure by Oct. 1, President Joe Biden will face the first federal government shutdown of his administration. ABC has put together a series of helpful documents to guide federal contractors through a shutdown and the suspension of federal construction operations.

Associated Builders and Contractors would like to congratulate Graham Roofing Inc. of West Point, Mississippi, a member of ABC's Mississippi Chapter, for successfully earning the Accredited Quality Contractor credential. The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, craft and management education, talent management and community relations. A company that meets the criteria set forth in the program and has earned STEP Gold, Platinum or Diamond status in ABC’s safety management system is formally designated an Accredited Quality Contractor.

On Sept. 25, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a new initiative, the Respirable Crystalline Silica Focused Inspection Initiative in the Engineered Stone Fabrication and Installation Industries. The initiative supplements OSHA’s current National Emphasis Program for Respirable Crystalline Silica and prioritizes federal OSHA inspections in workplaces where workers are typically exposed to high levels of silica, Cut Stone and Stone Product Manufacturing (NAICS Code 327991) and Brick, Stone and Related Construction Material Merchant Wholesalers (NAICS Code 423320).

ABC is conducting an important survey of contractor members to gauge opinions and experiences with the Inflation Reduction Act’s prevailing wage and government-registered apprenticeship requirements on clean energy tax credits. Ensuring as many members as possible respond to this survey will be vital to providing effective, informed comments seeking regulatory clarity and pushing back on concerning aspects of a recent Internal Revenue Service proposed rule.

On Sept. 20, the Biden administration through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security expanded the Temporary Protected Status program for Venezuelan migrants, qualifying an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans for TPS over the next 18 months for individuals who entered the United States before July 31, 2023.

Modern day top leadership engagement is continuing to trend away from the traditional command-and-control approach. Far from the “I think it, you do it” model, the total human health approach to top management is all about leadership—curious, engaged and relational. Safety isn’t left to chance or considered the responsibility of just the safety director; safety is managed and led just like every other operation in the company, from accounts receivable to customer experience.