Newsline

For more than three years, ABC has advocated for the repeal of the complex and costly employer mandate included in the Affordable Care Act. On July 2, the Obama Administration finally acknowledged employers’ concerns about implementing the burdensome requirements in a timely and effective manner. 

OSHA June 13 issued a direct final rule to update the construction signage standards by adding references to the latest versions of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) consensus standards on specifications for accident prevention signs and tags. The rule retains the existing references to the earlier ANSI standards, which allows employers the option to either comply with the updated or earlier standards.

OSHA announced on June 25 that it will be conducting a new National Emphasis Program on occupational exposure to isocyanates, which are used in materials including paints, varnishes, auto body repair, and building insulation. 

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee passed the Legal Workforce Act (H.R. 1772) on June 26 in a vote of 22-9. The bill would establish a new mandatory employment verification system by modifying the current E-verify system. ABC sent a letter of support to the committee chairman before the vote.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced on June 24 that it will be reviewing a lower court ruling that President Obama’s early 2012 “recess” appointments of three members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) were unconstitutional. The court likely will hear the case this fall.

ABC June 26 offered its support for the Secret Ballot Protection Act (H.R. 2346) in response to a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing meant to explore legislative opportunities to strengthen the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), including H.R. 2346. 

On June 4, OSHA released a directive from Assistant Secretary David Michaels changing how the agency should proceed when there is a fatality investigation at a Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) site. 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s changes to the drivers’ Hours of Service rule, which changes the total hours a week a truck driver can work from 82 to 70 and implements a “34 hour restart” requirement, goes into effect July 1. The rule also requires a driver to take a 30-minute break for every eight hours of consecutive driving.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) is requesting comments on the use of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for a project in Biloxi, Miss. The project will include the renovation of two buildings at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

In testimony June 18 before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, ABC General Counsel and shareholder with Littler Mendelson, P.C., Maurice Baskin said the Department of Labor’s (DOL) administration of the Davis-Bacon Act has, “hindered economic growth, increased the federal deficit and imposed an enormous paperwork burden on both contractors and the federal government.”