On Jan. 15, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule to adjust for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the department, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, for 2020.
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Save the date and support the competitors of the 2020 National Craft Championships by volunteering to be a judge.
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On Jan. 9, ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman and Miller and Long employees Alan Michael Jenkins and James Spencer Johnson joined President Trump at the White House for the announcement of the Council on Environmental Quality’s proposed rule to update its regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act.
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On Jan. 12, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released its final rule to update and clarify its interpretation of joint-employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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On Jan. 9, ABC filed comments to the National Labor Relations Board in support of a proposed rule that would implement three amendments to the representation election regulations under the National Labor Relations Act.
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On Dec. 16, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published its final rule clarifying and updating the regulations governing regular rate requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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Thursday, December 12, 2019 11:11 AM |
ABC News
The conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020, which authorizes funding for the Department of Defense and other national security programs, contains several provisions that have an impact on contractors and apprenticeship programs in the United States.
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On Nov. 26, OSHA issued a temporary enforcement policy for crane operator certifications issued by Crane Institute Certification, which no longer holds such accreditation.
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On Dec. 5, ABC submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division in support of its proposal to revise the DOL’s regulation for computing overtime compensation for salaried nonexempt employees who work hours that vary each week (i.e., a fluctuating workweek) under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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On Sept. 27, the DOL issued a final rule on overtime, officially named Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees, which updates and revises the “white-collar” overtime exemption regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The final rule goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
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On Nov. 20, the Trump administration released its Fall 2019 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory actions from each agency that the administration expects to publish through the end of the year and into 2020.
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Thursday, November 21, 2019 1:00 PM |
ABC News
Give your craft trainees the experience of lifetime a by sponsoring them as competitors in the 2020 National Craft Championships, which will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, during ABC Convention 2020, March 23-27. The intent-to-compete deadline is Dec. 13, 2019.
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Thursday, November 21, 2019 12:52 PM |
ABC News
In August, ABC launched the “One Post a Day” social media campaign to share positive messages with ABC chapters every day that showcase our commitment to the merit shop construction industry as well as safety and workforce development.
This campaign has been successful and, based on recent feedback, we decided to make some changes to make it even more targeted and effective.
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On Nov. 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 by an overwhelming bipartisan vote. TRIA is a shared public/private insurance program available to the construction and real estate sectors to cover catastrophic losses caused by acts of terrorism. ABC urges all senators to support H.R. 4634.
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The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to quality, safety, craft and management education, talent management and diversity, and community relations. This past month, 22 ABC members became Accredited Quality Contractors.
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ABC, as part of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, recently submitted comments to OSHA in regards to a proposed Beryllium rule. ABC stated that the 30-day timeframe OSHA requested for feedback was not enough time for people in the industry to submit thoughtful comments to the agency.
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On Nov. 7, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a guidance letter that will provide ABC contractors working with the Department of Defense the legal clarity necessary to allow active duty soldiers onto their jobsites in order to receive on-the-job training, which previously caused unanswered legal questions.
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has released an updated Technical Assistance Guide to help federal and federally assisted construction contractors and subcontractors understand their obligations under the laws enforced by OFCCP.
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On Nov. 12, ABC joined other employer representatives in submitting a comment letter to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to express support for EEOC’s decision to not seek renewal of OMB clearance for the EEO-1 Component 2 form based on concerns over the utility of the data, the burdens of reporting it and confidentiality protections.
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On Oct. 30, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration launched a new website, FindTreatment.gov, to help people struggling with substance abuse and addiction locate treatment centers and to provide them with additional resources.
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On Nov. 5, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled Fluctuating Workweek Method of Computing Overtime, which would revise a DOL regulation concerning salaried, non-exempt employees who work hours that vary each week under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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Elections were held yesterday in Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia. Over the past few weeks, all eyes have been on Virginia, as the balance of power in the state was on the line.
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In a reversal of its previous policy, on Oct. 28, the Trump administration announced its decision to extend Temporary Protected Status for approximately 250,000 El Salvadorans in the United States as part of a signed bilateral agreement on border security and information sharing.
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Wednesday, October 30, 2019 11:51 AM |
ABC News
On Sept. 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a final rule to make 1.3 million American workers newly eligible for overtime pay, a rule which becomes effective Jan. 1, 2020.
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The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy released a new guidance document to help small businesses understand their role and participate in the federal rulemaking process.
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On Oct. 15, ABC submitted comments as part of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Request for Information on Table 1 of the agency’s Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for Construction.
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Wednesday, October 16, 2019 1:51 PM |
ABC News
ABC member and 2003 national chair Eddie Rispone, founder of ISC Contractors, will be the Republican candidate facing off against incumbent Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) in the Nov. 16 general election for Louisiana, according to the results of the state’s Oct 12 primary.
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On Oct. 9, the Honolulu City Council passed a highly contentious ordinance that will require the city to negotiate a “community workforce agreement” with the Hawaii Building and Construction Trades Council, the Hawaii Construction Alliance and their affiliated labor unions for certain public works projects. The city says the ordinance will apply to “critical city projects” in which the city has a particular interest in timely and cost-efficient project completion. The CWA will largely apply to critical road, wastewater, drainage and park improvement projects.
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On Oct. 4, the National Labor Relations Board announced an extension of the comment period on its proposed rule that would amend the NLRB’s representation election regulations. The deadline for submitting comments has been extended from Oct. 11 to Dec. 10, 2019.
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The AQC program recognizes and honors construction firms that document their commitment to excellence in five key areas of corporate responsibility: quality, safety, craft and management education, talent management and diversity and community relations. A company that meets the criteria set forth in the program and has earned STEP Gold, Platinum or Diamond status in ABC’s safety management system is formally designated an Accredited Quality Contractor.
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Wednesday, October 2, 2019 1:41 PM |
ABC News
On Sept. 27, the DOL issued a final rule on overtime, which updates and revises the “white-collar” overtime exemption regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The final rule goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
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On Sept. 26, the U.S. Senate voted 53-44 to confirm Eugene Scalia as secretary of labor.
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Tuesday, October 1, 2019 4:29 PM |
ABC News
On Sept. 24, in a 4-3 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld ABC-supported legislation passed by the Ohio Legislature that prohibited residency requirements for contractors working on public construction projects.
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On Sept. 25, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor held a markup on H.R. 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO, Act. During the markup, representatives debated the merits of the bill and sought to add and remove provisions. Each amendment submitted by Democrats passed, while those submitted by Republicans failed via a party line vote.
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A study released in August by the Beacon Hill Institute found that New Jersey schools built under controversial government-mandated project labor agreements cost 16.25% more than schools that were bid and constructed through fair and open competition, free from PLA requirements.
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On Sept. 19, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division published a notice in the Federal Register to announce that the minimum wage for federal contractors will increase to $10.80 per hour from the current $10.60 beginning Jan. 1, 2020.
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On Sept. 24, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 12-11 to advance the nomination of Eugene Scalia to serve as the secretary of labor. The nomination will move to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.
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On Sept. 12, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed the final rule rescinding the 2015 final Clean Water Rule: Definition of "Waters of the United States," also known as the WOTUS final rule. ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman attended the signing ceremony for the rulemaking.
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The Hitt family recently donated a $16 million gift to the Act on Addiction campaign, a program launched by Inova Health System that fuels awareness, combats stigma and provides resources for those suffering from substance abuse in the Northern Virginia area. There are nearly 20 million American adults who suffer from addiction, and a recent survey says that approximately half of adults do not know how to help someone in need of treatment or support.
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On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Republican special election candidates Greg Murphy and Dan Bishop won their highly anticipated respective congressional campaigns in North Carolina.
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019 2:15 PM |
ABC News
September is Suicide Prevention Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the construction industry has the highest rate of suicide, as well as the highest number of suicides among all industries. This is a public health crisis, and ABC is committed to doing better for our workforce and their families.
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Wednesday, September 11, 2019 1:22 PM |
ABC News
What defines the best of the best? ABC’s Top Performers lists—the only rankings of their kind—recognize member contractors’ achievements in safety, quality, diversity, project excellence and special designations, ranked by work hours. You must achieve STEP Gold or higher and earn the Accredited Quality Contractor designation to qualify—applications are due by Nov. 1 for consideration in the rankings.
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In light of a recent court decision, certain employers will be required for the first time to submit detailed data on employee compensation and hours worked (or Component 2 data) for calendar years 2017 and 2018 to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as part of their annual EEO-1 form submission by Sept. 30, 2019.
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On Aug. 26, ABC submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule on apprenticeship programs, which initially excludes the construction industry and the military from provisions intended to expand apprenticeships and close America’s skills gap.
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On Aug. 15, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration published a Request for Information seeking comment on Table 1 of the agency’s Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for Construction.
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On Aug. 12, the National Labor Relations Board published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled Representation-Case Procedures: Election Bars; Proof of Majority Support in Construction Industry Collective-Bargaining Relationships, which proposes amendments to the representation election regulations.
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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs recently published several compliance assistance guides to provide federal contractors with resources on recordkeeping, postings and notices, technical assistance and more.
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Last week, ABC’s Vice President of HSE and Workforce Development, Greg Sizemore, made a presentation to the Republican Legislative Campaign Committee on the importance of continuing workforce development reforms at the state level.
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On June 25, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule on apprenticeship programs that would establish a process for creating high-quality, industry-recognized apprenticeship programs by organizations that apply to become DOL recognized Standards Recognition Entities. DOL’s new release on the proposal is available here.
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On July 31, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration issued a final rule that would allow small and mid-sized businesses to band together and offer 401(k) plans to their employees through Association Retirement Plans. The final rule goes into effect Sept. 30, 2019.
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