Newsline

At its first annual Diversity & Inclusion Summit, ABC brought together business owners, industry executives and ABC members from across the country to network and to explore why supplier diversity is key to the growth and the future of the construction industry. With more than 100 people in attendance, the summit sparked an open and honest conversation about why it’s important to embrace a diverse business culture and the value it provides businesses and the community.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued “A Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers” June 1, which provides employers guidance on best practices regarding restroom access for transgender employees. The publication includes information on OSHA’s Sanitation Standard, Model Practices, and state and local laws regarding restroom access.  

ABC member companies are full of talented, innovative and hardworking employees—many of whom are still in the early stages of their careers. As the future generation of business leaders and executives, young professionals in the construction industry are very important to ABC and its members. That is why ABC wants to honor them and recognize the leading young professionals in the association with the new Young Professional of the Year Award. 

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (H.R. 2685) June 11 without an ABC-opposed provision that would unfairly harm federal contractors and increase costs to taxpayers and the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regulatory agenda was released on May 21 and lists the priorities of the administration and the rulemakings they expect to release this year. The most recent agenda focuses on overtime requirements, the persuader rule and more. 

As part of a coalition, ABC submitted comments June 15 to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and U.S. Department of Education (DOE) on proposed rules for the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). ABC and the coalition offered its input in a number of areas where the public workforce system under WIOA can be better aligned with the needs of employers.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed legislation June 9 to make Nevada the 23rd state to restrict the ability of state and local government entities to implement wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreement (PLA) mandates on taxpayer-funded construction projects.

During ABC’s 2015 Legislative Week, ABC members have the chance to learn from top political experts, members of Congress and ABC National’s legislative team about key issues going into the 2016 presidential election, everyday regulations affecting the construction industry and ABC’s stance on some of the most recent happenings on Capitol Hill. 

The latest OSHA regulatory agenda was released on May 21 and lists the priorities of the administration and the rulemakings they expect to release this year regarding rules on silica exposure, recordkeeping and more. 

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (H.R. 2578) June 3 and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal year 2016 (H.R. 2577) June 9 without either problematic, ABC-opposed amendments that would unfairly harm federal contractors and increase costs to taxpayers and the federal government.

The Trimmer Construction Education Foundation (TCEF) announced the Build Your Future scholarship June 10 which offers a financial reward to anyone who is currently pursuing craft professional training in the construction industry through a NCCER-accredited program or a state- or federally-approved apprenticeship program in a merit-shop training facility. 

For a limited time only, AIA is doubling the standard ABC member discount on its Documents-on-Demand® Plus program to 20 percent off through June 20. The offer is good for more than 200 of AIA’s legal forms and agreements for the construction industry including design-build documents, payment and change order forms, subcontractor agreements, and sustainability agreements.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a proposed rule April 20 related to employer wellness programs, which is open for public comments until June 19. The proposed rule amends regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide guidance on the extent to which employers may use incentives to encourage employees to participate in wellness programs that include disability-related inquiries and/or medical examinations. 

With less than 48 hours before the funds were set to dry up, President Obama signed a two month extension of federal highway funding on May 29. The extension of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which funds safety, highway, transit and other transportation related programs, comes at a time of great debate about how to fund improvements and repairs to America’s roads, bridges and transportation infrastructure. The extension will now expire on July 31.

Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) annual Top 400 Contractors list is back and this year, 56 ABC member companies were named in the top 100 spots on the list.