On Nov. 19, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held a hearing titled, “Trump’s Regulatory Rollback: Saving Americans $907 Billion and Counting,” with Casey Mulligan, chief counsel for advocacy for the U.S. Small Business Administration.” Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee supporting deregulation by the Trump administration, including their commitment to institute a new independent contractor rule and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s interim final rule on beneficial ownership reporting requirements.

During the hearing, Committee Chair Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., expressed support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the United States rule. “This proposed rule… will help end this government overreach for our farmers, landowners and small business owners,” she noted.

While ABC expressed support for part of the administration’s reg rollback, it also called out the administration for failing to repeal Biden’s executive order and subsequent final rule mandating project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more.

On Nov. 19, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing titled, “E-Verify: Ensuring Lawful Employment in America.” Ahead of the hearing, ABC joined the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition in a letter reaffirming support for a mandatory national employment verification system, only if paired with strong employer safeguards outlined in the Legal Workforce Act.

EWIC stressed the importance of clear employer protections, uniform federal standards, reasonable phase-ins, improved identity-verification tools, and fair, predictable penalties. These principles align with measures in recent proposals including H.R. 2, the Dignity Act, and the Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act.

On Nov. 18, the U.S. House Committee on Small Business held a markup of several pieces of legislation, including the Destroying Unnecessary, Misaligned, and Prohibitive Red Tape Act (H.R. 4305), introduced by Rep. Tony Wied, R-Wis. Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee in support of H.R. 4305 and urged the committee to advance the bill for a full House vote. The DUMP Red Tape Act codifies the Small Business Administration’s “Red Tape Hotline,” accessible by email, web form, or phone, where small businesses can report burdensome regulations to the SBA’s chief counsel for advocacy.

During the markup, Rep. Wied noted that the Red Tape Hotline gives small businesses “a seat at the table to highlight the prohibitive red tape regulations from across federal agencies that hurt their ability to grow and compete.” He added that his bill, “is a commonsense way to gather input directly from the people most harmed by overregulation.”

The bill was reported favorably for a full House vote in an 18-9 vote.

On Nov. 17, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed rule that will clarify the definition of “waters of the United States.”

“ABC supports the Trump administration’s proposed rule to clarify the Clean Water Act’s definition of WOTUS,” said Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of government affairs. “This rule would alleviate the confusion and delays caused by the prior administration’s policies, including its failure to fully implement the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. We welcome the administration’s commitment to establishing a clear definition of WOTUS and reasonable boundaries on the scope of federal permitting.

“ABC looks forward to fully reviewing the Trump administration’s proposed rule and providing comments to assist the EPA and USACE in our shared goal of ensuring the efficient construction of critical infrastructure projects while maintaining water quality.”

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.

On November 10, Republicans from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee announced a slate of labor reform bills aimed at improving the rights of workers. The ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace’s statement on the bills can be read here. The bills in the package are as follows:

• Worker RESULTS Act (S.3117): Amends the National Labor Relations Act regarding labor organizing elections. The bill’s provisions expand the contract bar window, require secret ballots, set a two-thirds quorum for representation elections, limit the use of unfair labor practice (ULP) charges to delay elections, limit the succession bar, and prevent employees from decertifying a union until a contract is agreed upon. (This is the Republicans’ alternative to the Faster Labor Contracts Act.)
• Fairness in Filing Act (S.3116): Amends the NLRA to restrict ULP charges filed frivolously or not in good faith. 
• Union Members Right to Know Act (S.3114): Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to require labor organizations to disclose union workers’ rights and give workers authority over how their dues are spent. 
• NLRB Stability Act (S.3115): Amends the NLRA to align the board’s decisions with federal appellate precedent. 
• Protection on the Picket Line Act (S.3124): Amends the NLRA to clarify when employers can discipline workers for misconduct during protests. Protects employees from harassment and abuse. 

Worker Privacy Act (S.3128): Amends the NLRA to protect worker privacy by limiting how unions can use employee data during organizing drives. 

On Nov. 5, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing titled "Registered Apprenticeship: Scaling the Workforce for the Future." Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter thanking the committee for examining how apprenticeship and workforce development programs can help meet the nation’s growing demand for skilled construction workers. The letter also urged the committee to expand the system to support all high-quality training models that effectively prepare Americans for rewarding construction careers.

Committee Chair Bill Cassidy, R-La., opened the hearing by noting that the government-registered apprenticeship system is burdensome and inconsistent. He emphasized the importance of incorporating employer and employee input to simplify registration, provide flexibility, and lower costs in order to increase participation.

Senator Ed Markey, D-Ma., asked LIUNA General President Brent Booker if President Donald Trump's renovation of the White House's East Wing took appropriate safety steps to protect workers and passersby from asbestos. Booker said he did not have access to that information because the administration chose to use a nonunion workforce, and it is not a union jobsite. Markey stated he wrote the contractor who tore down the East Wing asking why workers were put at risk. He stated this is an example of President Trump being the most anti-union and anti-safety President in history. 

Chairman Cassidy responded, stating that every merit shop he has visited emphasizes and takes pride in its safety record and that all contractors are subject to the same OSHA regulations regarding asbestos.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 12-11 to advance President Donald Trump’s nominations of Crystal Carey as General Counsel to the National Labor Relations Board for a four-year term and James Murphy as a Member of the Board through Dec. 16, 2027. Ahead of the vote, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to members of the Committee, urging them to advance Mayer, Murphy and Carey. 

While the nomination of Scott Mayer, Boeing's Chief Labor Counsel, to the Board was initially scheduled for a vote today, he did not come up for a vote. During the Senate HELP Committee's Oct. 1 hearing to consider Mayer and Murphy, Mayer faced questions from Senator Hawley regarding strikes at Boeing's St. Louis facility. Regarding Carey, Hawley stated that stated he was not pleased with Carey's answers to his questions during her July 16 hearing, but she committed to enforcing the Board's decision in Amazon, leading him to support her nomination.

Carey and Murphy's nominations now move to the Senate floor for consideration. The Committee also advanced the nominations of Rosario Palmieri as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy and Anthony D’Esposito as Inspector General at the Department of Labor.

On Oct. 8, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a hearing titled “Labor Law Reform Part 1: Diagnosing the Issues, Exploring Current Proposals.” The hearing considered existing legislative labor and employment reforms, including the Faster Labor Contracts Act (H.R.5408/S.844), National Right to Work Act (S. 533), Protecting the Right to Organize Act (H.R.20/S.852), the Warehouse Worker Protection Act (H.R.4896/S. 2613), and others.

Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee urging Senators to oppose the PRO Act and the Faster Labor Contracts Act. “ABC believes there is a better path forward—one that prioritizes collaboration over coercion. Congress should focus on empowering all Americans, regardless of union affiliation, to learn, advance and succeed based on their skills, safety record and merit,” the letter reads. “Encouraging workforce development, adopting an all-of-the-above approach to apprenticeship and reducing regulatory barriers will strengthen both employee opportunity and the nation’s economic competitiveness. Such efforts represent true labor reform—centered on freedom, fairness and the American worker.”

In addition, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace also sent a letter opposing the FLCA and the Hawley Labor Policy framework and in support of various existing legislative labor reforms, including the:

• Save Local Business Act (H.R. 4366)
• Start Applying Labor Transparency (SALT) Act (H.R. 2952)
• Worker Enfranchisement Act (H.R. 2572)

On September 16, Rep. Pete Stauber introduced the ABC-opposed FLCA in the House, an effort to strip workers and employers of their right to freely negotiate workplace conditions. Specifically, the FLCA imposes a 10-day time period for an employer and union to begin negotiating following a representation election as well as a requirement that a bargaining agreement be finalized in 90 days. The consequences for not obtaining such an agreement will likely be mandatory, binding arbitration, which will allow the federal government to set the terms of private contracts without the input or consent from the employees, employers or unions involved. For more information, read ABC’s press release. On Oct. 1, CDW sent a letter to members of the U.S. House urging them to oppose the FLCA.

On October 8, Senator Tim Scott, R-S.C., reintroduced the Employee Rights Act in the Senate for the 119th Congress. On June 26, ABC announced its strong support for the reintroduction of the ERA in the U.S. House, urging the swift consideration of the bill to protect worker freedoms nationwide. The ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace also released a statement in support of the bill’s reintroduction in the House.  

“Worker choice, flexibility and privacy are essential to the success of the construction industry, and the Employee Rights Act delivers much-needed balance to our nation’s labor laws,” said Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of government affairs. “This bill protects all workers’ right to a secret ballot, their control over personal contact information and their freedom to work as independent contractors if they choose. Congress must act now to advance this pro-worker, pro-growth legislation and stop harmful policies that undermine workforce freedoms.”
 
The ERA would:

• Guarantee secret ballot union elections on jobsites
• Safeguard worker privacy and limit forced disclosure of personal information
• Provide legal clarity for independent contractors
• Clarifies the definition of a joint employer
• Prevent the use of employee dues for union political campaigns without consent