Awards
Events/Products/Programs
Legislation
Politics and Policy
Regulations
Safety
State/Local News
Workforce Development
ABC Newsline
On Dec. 18, the U.S. Senate approved an en bloc nominations package that included 97 Trump administration nominees. The 53-43 party-line vote was made possible by the Senate’s recent move to lower the threshold for subcabinet level positions to a simple majority rather than the typical, 60-vote threshold.
Ahead of the vote, ABC and the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace supported the nominations of three National Labor Relations Board nominees included in the package, who were sworn in on Jan. 7:
With the confirmation of the nominees, the NLRB will not only have a new general council to set the agenda, but it will also have a quorum for the first time in nearly a year. The new 2-1 Republican majority will allow the Board to resume more regular operations. However, longstanding Board practice requires three votes to overturn existing precedent. A third Republican-appointed member has not yet been nominated, so the Board is not able to fully begin to unwind policies implemented during the Biden administration.
Among the other 97 positions, there were several U.S. Department of Labor nominees confirmed:
On Dec. 22, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor rescinded an ABC-opposed rule on Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts, effective immediately. This rescission was issued in accordance with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14148, Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.
The rule, issued in December 2023, required contractors and subcontractors that work on covered federal service contracts, which include most contracts valued at or above $250,000 covered by the Service Contract Act, to offer service employees employed under the predecessor contract a right of first refusal of employment on the successor contract in good faith.
With the rule no longer in effect, previously covered contractors are no longer required to offer positions to incumbent workers before hiring new employees.
On Aug. 15, 2022, ABC submitted comments opposing the proposed regulation, asserting that it conflicted with the plain language of the SCA and would create inefficiencies in the procurement process by restricting the ability of contractors to freely hire their workforce.
On Jan. 5, as part of the Waters Advocacy Coalition, ABC joined comments on a U.S Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed rule that would streamline the federal permitting process under the Clean Water Act by clarifying the definition of “waters of the United States.”
The comments expressed support for the proposed rule, which seeks to amend the definition of WOTUS as currently defined by the Biden administration’s January 2023 final rule and August 2023 amendment. Further, the comments offered recommendations on adjustments to the proposal that would provide additional clarity and certainty to contractors.
The comments included the following key recommendations to further strengthen the proposed rule:
The EPA and USACE will now review all comments on the proposed rule and are expected to release a final rule in the coming months.
More information on the ongoing WOTUS rulemaking process is available on the EPA’s website.
On Dec. 22, 2025, federal restrictions implementing provisions of H.R.2670, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, took effect. The restrictions, enacted under the American Security Drone Act of 2023, prohibit contractors and recipients of federal funds from operating, or using federal funds to procure or operate, certain foreign-manufactured unmanned aircraft systems on federal and federally assisted projects.
The prohibitions apply to UAS manufactured or assembled by covered foreign entities identified by the Federal Acquisition Security Council and listed in the System for Award Management. SAM.gov indicates that all entities listed on the International Trade Administration’s Consolidated Screening List are included on the FASC-covered foreign entity list. The list currently includes prominent drone manufacturers DJI and Autel Robotics.
Contractors should ensure compliance with FAR 52.240-1 and applicable agency funding terms when procuring or operating UAS in connection with federal or federally assisted work.
ABC has added two new additions to the Beam Club. Jim Abbott of Claro Advisors LLC, Boston, a member of the Massachusetts chapter, earned the Presidential Level. Tom Altmann of Altmann Construction Co. Inc., Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, a member of the Wisconsin chapter, reached the Hall of Fame Level.
The Beam Club was established in 1966 to recognize ABC’s top membership recruiters for their commitment to growing the association. By recruiting five new members, ABC members are automatically enrolled in the Beam Club by their chapter. Members receive one point for each new member recruited. Beam Club activity is ongoing from year to year, with members’ point totals continually accruing and advancing members to the next Beam Club award level.
To reach the Presidential Level of the Beam Club, ABC members must recruit 25 new members. For the Hall of Fame Level, ABC members must recruit 50 members.
For more information on the Beam Club, contact Mandie Farabaugh at [email protected].
ABC congratulates another 23 companies for earning their Accredited Quality Contractor credential this month. AQC recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, health and safety, craft and management education, talent management and community relations.
The companies include:
Companies must meet the AQC criteria and have earned Gold, Platinum or Diamond status in ABC’s STEP® Health and Safety Management System in order to be eligible for the credential.
As an AQC, you have the opportunity to:
Visit abc.org/aqcapp for more information.
On Nov. 17, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Adam Telle and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin signed a proposed rule aiming to streamline the federal permitting process under the Clean Water Act by clarifying the definition of “waters of the United States.”
The proposed rule would amend the definition of WOTUS, which is currently defined by the Biden administration’s January 2023 final rule and August 2023 amendment. ABC criticized the 2023 rulemaking, which contributed to continued regulatory uncertainty and unnecessary delays for critical infrastructure projects.
The November 2025 proposed rule would ensure USACE and EPA are in full compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 25 decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which placed clear boundaries on the scope of the federal government’s authority while maintaining important environmental protections for America’s waterways.
ABC issued a statement regarding the proposed rule, supporting the Trump administration’s commitment to clearly defining WOTUS while protecting water quality.
Resources on the proposed rule are available on EPA’s website. Specifically, the proposed rule would:
ABC will provide comments on the proposed rule, with comments due 45 days after its publication in the Federal Register. Previously, ABC provided recommendations to the EPA and USACE on WOTUS as part of the Waters Advocacy Coalition and provided testimony at a listening session regarding the impacts of WOTUS on small businesses.
On Nov. 13, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., reintroduced the Affordable Housing Expansion Act, which streamlines outdated federal regulations under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and helps expand affordable housing nationwide.
“The Affordable Housing Expansion Act removes unnecessary barriers to construction and improves taxpayer value,” said Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of government affairs. “By modernizing the Davis-Bacon wage determination process and reducing compliance burdens, this bill provides contractors, workers and taxpayers with accurate and clearly defined rates. ABC commends Sen. Moran for his leadership and urges Congress to advance this commonsense proposal.”
The bill improves the wage determination process by allowing wage surveys to use broader geographic groupings. In addition, it orders the U.S. Department of Labor to review and update how it collects wage data within one year to ensure that surveys are more reliable, generate higher participation rates and achieve a better balance between union and nonunion employers.
By cutting red tape and ensuring fair competition, the Affordable Housing Expansion Act empowers contractors to focus resources on building more homes and revitalizing communities across the country.
For more information on the bill, see ABC’s letter of support.
Background
The DBRA requires contractors to pay administratively determined minimum wage rates, or “prevailing wages,” for construction labor on projects exceeding just $2,000 in cost to the federal government. The DOL determines prevailing wages for construction projects through incomplete, inconsistent and unrepresentative surveys that often reflect union rates, as unionized contractors are more likely to report uniform wage data.
This can result in standardized union-level wages being applied across projects, regardless of whether contractors are unionized. As a result, the DBRA functions as a multibillion-dollar taxpayer subsidy for unionized construction contractors and, as the Congressional Budget Office estimates, will cost the federal government $24.3 billion through 2032.
For more information on Davis-Bacon, see here.
On Nov. 5, ABC sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions ahead of its Nov. 6 hearing, “Registered Apprenticeship: Scaling the Workforce for the Future.”
In the letter, ABC thanked the committee for examining how apprenticeship and workforce development programs can help meet the nation’s growing demand for skilled construction workers. “Registered apprenticeships are one important part of a diverse workforce development ecosystem,” said Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of government affairs. “But rigid structures and lengthy completion times discourage participation by employers and workers alike. Congress should modernize and expand the system to support all high-quality training models that successfully prepare Americans for rewarding construction careers.”
ABC’s 67 chapters educate craft, safety and management professionals using innovative and flexible learning models, such as just-in-time task training, competency-based progression and work-based learning. These talent development initiatives occur alongside ABC’s more than 450 federal and state government-registered apprenticeship programs, or GRAPs, that prepare American’s nationwide for safe and productive work in more than 20 occupations. Further, ABC members invested an estimated $1.6 billion in construction industry workforce development to upskill 1.3 million course attendees in 2023, including hundreds of GRAPs, independently administered by ABC member companies.
However, it is clear that, at current rates of participation and completion, federal and state GRAPs still fail to meet the construction industry’s short- and long-term skilled workforce development needs. According to an annual ABC analysis of U.S. Department of Labor data, ABC estimates that, in fiscal year 2024, 290,000 apprentices were enrolled in federal and state GRAPs that yielded less than 40,000 completers—well short of the 439,000 workers needed in 2025 alone.
ABC and its members’ investment in GRAPs is reflected by DOL data displaying significant growth in nonunion GRAPs between FY 2015 and FY 2024.
The DOL’s data presents five-year trend lines indicating stronger proportional growth in the number of nonunion GRAPs, apprentice participants and apprentice completers compared to union-affiliated GRAPs since FY 2019.
Further, while construction unions represent just 10.3% of the U.S. construction workforce, they continue to operate a majority of the nation’s registered apprenticeship programs, accounting for roughly 69% of participants.
With this data in mind, ABC encouraged the committee to reject requirements that may limit opportunities for the many high-quality, industry-recognized programs that successfully train the majority of America’s construction workforce. A balanced approach that values all proven workforce development models—both union and nonunion—best ensures the construction industry can meet the nation’s growing needs.
On Oct. 30, ABC submitted post-hearing comments to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in response to OSHA’s informal public hearing on its Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule. On June 18, ABC participated in the informal public hearing and was asked a series of questions by OSHA, which ABC’s comments address.
As explained in the comments, “ABC remains committed to helping its members protect their employees from recognized hazards, including heat injury and illness. A standard addressing heat injury and illness must be flexible and performance-based. Despite requests from ABC and its coalition partners in the construction industry requesting flexibility, OSHA’s proposed rule is a rigid, one-size-fits-all approach. The very nature of construction means that the worksite will change hourly and daily.
“It is misguided to apply one regulatory approach to all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in general industry, construction, maritime and agriculture sectors. ABC reiterates its request that OSHA withdraw the current rule as proposed, revise it to allow greater flexibility for affected industries and, at a minimum, develop a separate standard for the construction industry.”
Needed flexibility is limited in OSHA’s proposed rule because the agency has imposed rigid requirements, which include heat triggers, an acclimatization schedule for new and returning employees, mandatory rest breaks and the use of a heat safety coordinator, among others. OSHA failed to recognize the practical applications needed on construction jobsites. Employers and employees need flexibility to account for differences among worksites, geographical locations, work responsibilities and available technology. Employers also need better guidance from OSHA on hybrid worksites where work initially begins outside and then transitions to “indoor” conditions. Additionally, construction jobsites vary in size, time, scope and duration, and flexibility is needed to ensure feasibility for compliance.
As a steering committee member, ABC also shares the concerns and recommendations provided in extensive post-hearing comments filed by the Construction Industry Safety Committee and the Coalition for Workplace Safety.
Background:
On Oct. 27, 2021, OSHA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings, which requested information on how to implement regulations to protect workers from hazardous heat. ABC, as a steering committee member of CISC, submitted comments in response to the ANPRM on Jan. 26, 2022, stating that any regulatory approach—if adopted—must be simple and should integrate the key concepts of “water, rest, shade.”
In December 2023, ABC submitted comments as a steering committee member of CISC and CWS in response to OSHA’s potential standard for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings following its review of the Small Business Advocacy Review Panel materials and the SBAR Panel’s final report. In September 2023, the SBAR Panel hosted six video conferences to gather input from small entity representatives. An ABC member participated as a SER during one of the video conferences.
On Jan. 14, 2025, ABC submitted comments to the DOL on its Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule, urging the agency to withdraw the current rule as proposed and revise it to allow greater flexibility for affected industries and, at a minimum, develop a separate standard for the construction industry. In addition, ABC joined comment letters submitted by CISC and CWS on Jan. 14.
Continue to monitor ABC’s Newsline for updates on the proposed rule.