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.

Following the release of the U.S Department of Labor’s proposed rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations, on March 18, ABC formally submitted a request for the 60-day comment period to be extended by an additional 60 days.

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 rule went into effect as scheduled on March 8, 2021, and remains in effect today.

ABC celebrated Women in Construction Week, March 6-12, to raise awareness of the growing role of women in the construction industry and encourage women to consider a career in construction. ABC demonstrated the success of women in the industry through social media posts and letters to the editor published in a number of  media outlets.

“While ABC is still reviewing the 432-page rule, it appears the DOL missed an opportunity for meaningful Davis-Bacon reform. For example, the proposed rule reverts back to 1983 regulations that do not result in actual prevailing rates, as required by statute. Reversing course by 40 years is not modernization. Instead, it is even worse public policy catering to special interests embedded in the Biden administration that benefit from the broken status quo,” ABC said in a statement.

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 March 7, U.S. Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., introduced legislation that would allow federal recognition of industry and market-driven apprenticeship programs. The Training America’s Workforce Act would allow third-party entities approved by the U.S. Department of Labor to recognize and perform oversight over apprenticeship programs developed by the private sector and other organizations.

On March 7, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed an amicus brief in Stericycle, a case in which the National Labor Relations Board is considering changing the way it reviews employer handbook rules to determine if they violate workers’ rights to collectively bargain. On Jan. 6, the board in