Newsline

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) August 2011 “Notification of Employee Rights” rule was struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on June 14, making it the second appellate court to invalidate the rule this year. 

To help members get a greater understanding of their obligations under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or health care law, ABC Merit Choice Insurance is offering a “Health Care Reform Overview for Contractors.” 

ABC submitted comments June 9 opposing an interim final rule on how wages for temporary, non-agricultural H-2B workers should be calculated. The “emergency” interim final rule, issued April 24 by the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor (DOL), was effective immediately. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a survey requesting feedback from the construction industry about including a government-mandated project labor agreement (PLA) in a solicitation for a federal contract to build a new air traffic control tower exceeding $25 million in Tucson, Ariz.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) June 4 released a final rule that delays for one year implementation of a provision related to health insurance exchanges that would allow small businesses to let their employees choose coverage from a number of plans.

OSHA May 29 issued a final rule that that broadens the current exemption for digger derricks used in the electric-utility industry to also include telecommunications work.

All 45 Senate Republicans, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have filed friend-of-the-court briefs asking for the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a lower court ruling that President Obama’s recess appointments to the NLRB were unconstitutional. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit May 16 ruled that President Barack Obama’s recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) between March 2010 and January 2012 were unconstitutional. The ruling, which supports a Jan. 25 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit invalidating the January 2012 recess appointments of Democrats Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, also invalidates the March 2010 recess appointment of Craig Becker. 

The Department of Labor May 8 issued a technical release containing guidance on a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that requires employers to issue employees a notice of coverage options.

OSHA has released new materials to help employers comply with the newly revised Hazard Communication Requirements, including a fact sheet outlining the new training requirements, Quickcards on the new pictogram label requirements, and a brief synopsis on the labels and pictograms.