On Sept. 2, ABC submitted comments in support of the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed rule to end discrimination and streamline rules for registered apprenticeships, Prohibiting Illegal Discrimination in Registered Apprenticeship Programs. For more information, see ABC’s Newsline article.

July 24, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions advanced three labor nominees by a party-line vote of 12-11. The nominations will now move to the Senate floor for a final vote at a later date.  

• David Castillo to serve as Chief Financial Officer, Department of Labor  
• Brittany Panuccio to serve as a Member, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 
• Jonathan Snare to serve as a Member, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission 

Ahead of the vote, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace along with 11 employer organizations, including ABC, sent a letter to the committee expressing strong support for Brittany Panuccio to serve on the EEOC.

On July 16, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held a hearing titled, “HOME 2.0: Modern Solutions to the Housing Shortage.” The hearing focused on the Home Reform Act of 2025 that would modernize the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the largest block grant program for states and municipalities dedicated to creating affordable housing for low-income Americans. Ahead of the hearing, ABC sent a letter to the committee calling on them to strip onerous Davis-Bacon requirements from the program that increase costs and delay critical affordable housing projects.

In his opening statement, Chairman Mike Flood, R-Neb., touched on the subcommittee’s request for public input on the HOME program, of which ABC members participated, and noted four primary obstacles to the efficiency of the hearing: the environmental review process; Build America, Buy America; Davis-Bacon requirements; and Section 3 requirements. You can watch Rep. Flood’s comments here.

Allison George, Director, Colorado Division of Housing, Department of Local Affairs and one of the witnesses for the hearing, suggested a few recommendations to support HOME Program’s modernization, stating, “we recognize the importance of accountability, but overlapping requirements like Section 3, Davis-Bacon, and Build America, Buy America and environmental reviews have become especially difficult for our small and rural communities to manage.”

On July 16, Kevin Sell, senior manager of corporate development at Kwest Group in Perrysburg, Ohio, testified on behalf of ABC before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections in their hearing, “Safe Workplaces, Stronger Partnerships: The Future of OSHA Compliance Assistance.” His testimony focused on role that programs like ABC’s STEP Health and Safety Management System play in creating meaningful pathways between the construction industry and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

“The area offices of OSHA have provided employees and employers with valuable expertise and support through Compliance Assistance Specialists and their Challenge Program, which serves as a pathway to the Voluntary Protection Program,” said Sell. “By fostering a relationship—or better yet, a partnership—with the area office, employers gain nonenforcement support, allowing them to work collaboratively with OSHA to improve workplace safety and reduce risk for their teams. This is especially important in construction, as many of us have a mobile workforce that presents a unique set of challenges far different and more complex than most general industry sites.” Watch the hearing and read Sell’s full testimony.

Sell began his career as a firefighter and shift commander, eventually finding his way to the construction industry where he worked in safety and quality, workforce development and relationship management roles. He also held leadership roles on both the Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Funding Commission and the Kentucky Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission.

For more information, read ABC’s press release.

On March 14, ABC joined a coalition letter urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Labor to continue their release of supplemental H-2B visas, which has been occurring since December, as we approach the beginning of the second half cap season on April 1st.

On Oct. 25, the Senate voted 51-46 to confirm Jessica Looman as the administration of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. Ahead of the vote, ABC joined the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity (PPWO) in a letter to Senators, expressing concerns with WHD’s recent policy and procedural decisions under Looman’s leadership as Principal Deputy Administrator and urging them to discuss with Principal Deputy Administrator Looman and the Department of Labor the overtime proposal as part of their consideration of her nomination.

Earlier this year in a letter to the Senate HELP committee, ABC highlighted concerns from the construction industry on rulemakings, such as independent contractor, overtime and radical reforms to Davis-Bacon regulations that will increase the cost of taxpayer-funded construction projects and discourage small businesses from rebuilding America.

ABC joined more than 30 organizations in a letter opposing the nomination of Julie Su to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Labor. ABC previously sent a letter opposing Su’s nomination and raising her questionable record over the past years as Deputy Secretary and her previous role in California.

Su’s nomination is currently stalled in the Senate as Republicans are united in opposition and moderate Democrats remain hesitant to support her while the White House is attempting a last-ditch effort to get her across the finish line.

On May 9, ABC led a coalition of small business and construction organizations in a letter expressing concerns with new recommendations to the U.S. Department of Labor from the DOL’s Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship.

On May 10, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship voted to approve recommendations to the DOL for potential revisions to the National Apprenticeship System. The ACA is an advisory body comprised of representatives from industries, labor organizations and other members of the public that provides advice to the agency on government-registered apprenticeship programs. These recommendations will inform the DOL’s upcoming proposed rule revising the GRAP system, currently targeted for June 2023.

Included in the recommendations are suggestions for the DOL to establish a new “Quality Seal” program for GRAPs. Programs would be required to meet certain wage requirements, completion rates and apprentice-to-journeyworker ratios in order to receive the Quality Seal and accompanying preferential treatment for federal funding of GRAPs. Employer participants in Quality Seal GRAPs would receive preferential treatment in the bidding and awarding of federal and federally assisted construction projects. Additionally, some members of the ACA recommended that all GRAPs should be required to guarantee graduates such wages deemed “family-sustaining” by the DOL.

On April 20, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the nomination of Julie Su to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Labor. Su, who was approved as the No. 2 at Labor by the Senate last Congress in a party line 50-47 vote, previously served as California Labor Secretary. Before holding the Secretary of Labor role in California, Su also served as California Labor Commissioner from 2011 through 2018. Su was also one of the top architects of California’s controversial Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) law, which instituted an arbitrary and vague three-stage, “ABC” test to prove a worker is an independent contractor instead of an employee.

On April 17, ABC sent a letter, notifying the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee of our opposition to Julie Su to serve as the next U.S. Secretary of Labor.

On March 30, ABC joined a coalition of trade and business organizations in a letter to the committee raising considerable questions around the nomination of Su and her questionable record over the past years as Deputy Secretary and her previous role in California, and urging the committee to question Su on the current challenges facing the Department of Labor and the workforce in the United States.

ABC believes that during her time as Deputy Secretary, Ms. Su has shown she is unwilling or unable to consider the concerns of thousands of our nation’s small business and millions of workers who face daunting challenges under the DOL’s current regulatory agenda. Without assurances from Ms. Su that the voices of the majority of small businesses will be heard at DOL, ABC will be forced to continue to raise serious concerns with her nomination.

On Feb. 15, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing on the nomination of Jessica Looman to serve as the administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at the U.S. Department of Labor. Looman currently serves as the Principal Deputy Administrator of WHD, and before joining WHD, served as the Executive Director of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council. In a letter to the committee, ABC highlighted concerns from the construction industry on forthcoming rulemakings, such as independent contractor, overtime and radical reforms to Davis-Bacon regulations that will increase the cost of taxpayer-funded construction projects and discourage small businesses from rebuilding America, and urged the committee to obtain clear commitments from Ms. Looman as the agency considers these new rules.

Republican Ranking Member on the Committee Sen. Bill Cassidy, La., also announced his opposition to Ms. Looman following the hearing