ABC has prepared a summary of federal regulatory actions of interest to ABC members by agency.
U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Indoor and Outdoor Settings
On June 18, 2025, Joe Xavier, ABC senior director of health and safety, testified before the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in a public hearing on OSHA's Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule.
In his testimony, Xavier reiterated ABC’s recommendation for more flexibility on jobsites, which would allow supervisors and employees to work together and coordinate safe approaches for rest breaks, focusing on the nature of work and the specific workplace conditions. On Oct. 30, ABC submitted post-hearing comments on the proposed rule and reiterated the need for flexibility. 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.
On Jan. 14, ABC submitted comments to OSHA 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.
OSHA’s proposed rule would apply to all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime and agriculture sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction and require employers to develop programs and implement controls to protect employees from heat hazards. In addition, as a steering committee member, ABC joined the Construction Industry Safety Coalition and the Coalition for Workplace Safety comment letters.
ABC’s states in its comment letter:
“ABC strongly supports worker health and safety and protection from heat injury and illness, while maintaining flexibility for the fluid nature of the construction environment. Throughout the heat rulemaking, ABC has continued to urge OSHA to focus on the key concepts of ‘water, rest, shade’ and provide construction employers the necessary flexibility to make such a standard effective.
“ABC believes employers should equip their employees and leadership teams to develop their own health and safety plans, unique to their jobsites. We also provide tools to employers so that they can equip and empower supervisors to recognize the signs and symptoms of heat illness as well as provide necessary rest, water and shade that is dependent on local conditions. ABC’s members work to ensure that jobsites are safe and strive to implement the most appropriate practices for working in extreme heat conditions that focus on the individual worker.
“Unfortunately, the more than 1,000-page proposed rule imposes prescriptive, complicated requirements on construction industry employers, limiting all flexibility, which could weaken contractor efforts to prevent heat stress for workers. Flexibility is limited because OSHA has imposed rigid requirements, which include heat triggers, the 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. Additionally, construction jobsites vary in size, time, scope and duration, and flexibility is needed to ensure feasibility for compliance.
“As a member of the CISC steering committee, ABC has consistently urged OSHA to develop a separate regulatory approach for the construction industry. To combine all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in general industry, construction, maritime and agriculture sectors into one regulatory approach is misguided. ABC and its coalition partners urged OSHA to recognize that there are significant differences in the types of job tasks, the work performed and even the environmental conditions in which construction industry employees work. Moreover, there is existing precedent for the agency to develop a separate standard for the construction industry based on previous rulemakings.
“ABC strongly urges OSHA 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.”
ABC’s comments also state that the proposed rule’s heat triggers are unworkable; rest breaks should be flexible; the proposed rule’s acclimatization schedule for new and returning employees will be particularly onerous for the construction industry; OSHA lacks the statutory authority to define “employee representative”; OSHA should clarify who can serve as the heat safety coordinator; effective two-way communication should be practicable; and the proposed rule’s prescriptive requirements will create challenges for small businesses.
Learn more about ABC’s position on the proposed rule in its comment letter.
ABC will continue to monitor this rulemaking and provide updates in Newsline.
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 the CISC, submitted comments in response to the ANPRM on Jan. 26, 2022.
On April 12, 2022, OSHA announced a National Emphasis Program on Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards, which sets out a targeted enforcement effort and reiterates OSHA’s compliance assistance and outreach efforts.
On July 27, 2023, OSHA announced that the agency will intensify its enforcement where workers are exposed to heat hazards, with increased inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture. These actions will fully implement the agency’s National Emphasis Program on heat, announced in April 2022, to focus enforcement efforts in geographic areas and industries with the most vulnerable workers.
On Sept. 29, 2023, OSHA issued new resources to protect workers from the effects of heat.
In December 2023, ABC submitted comments as a steering committee member of the CISC and the 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 2024, 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. The panel’s final report was issued on Nov. 3, 2024.
On Aug. 30, 2024, OSHA published its Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule. Read ABC’s release on the proposed rule.
Elements of the proposal include the following:
OSHA resources on the proposed rule:
Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process
On May 21, 2024, ABC joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition in business groups in filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division against the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process final rule. Read the news release announcing the lawsuit. The litigation is currently pending.
Effective May 31, 2024, the final rule allows employees to choose a third-party representative, such as an outside union representative or community organizer, to accompany an OSHA safety inspector during site inspections, regardless of whether the workplace is unionized or not.
Now, construction employees and employers could face serious safety concerns because the final rule has the potential to allow anyone on a jobsite. There simply is no business case for this final rule and no benefit during a compliance inspection.
By allowing outside union agents access to nonunion employers’ private property, OSHA is injecting itself into labor-management disputes and casting doubt on its status as a neutral enforcer of the law. This final rule negatively impacts the rights of employers while simultaneously ignoring the rights of the majority of employees who have not authorized a union to represent them. OSHA’s rule also poses unnecessary risk to the individual joining the inspection and others on the jobsite if the authorized person is not trained to safely walk a construction jobsite. The rule does not include any requirement that the authorized person be equipped or conduct themselves to the same standards as OSHA safety inspectors. Further, the final rule fails to answer who is legally responsible if the third party gets injured during the inspection or harms someone else.
In addition to the lawsuit, on May 17, ABC, as a steering committee member of the Coalition for Workplace Safety, and 57 other employer organizations sent a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging them to pass Rep. Mary Miller’s, R-Ill., Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the final rule.
The CWS letter states, “The resolution is vital to safeguarding the mission of workplace health and safety inspections. Without this legislation, OSHA CSHOs will be forced into an impossible position of policing labor disputes, for which they are simply unequipped. It would protect employers against individuals looking to further their own agendas and safeguard their property rights. It would also protect workers’ right to have their voice heard when determining workplace representation.”
Background on the final rule:
On March 29, OSHA announced its Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process final rule and ABC issued a news release opposing the rule.
OSHA Resources on the final rule:
On Nov. 13, 2023, ABC submitted comments urging the DOL to withdraw its Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process proposed rule. ABC also signed on to comments submitted by the CWS and Construction Industry Safety Coalition.
Personal Protective Equipment in Construction
On Dec. 11, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced its final rule on Personal Protective Equipment in Construction, which adds specific language requiring that employers provide PPE that properly fits construction industry workers. The change aligns the construction industry standard with the standard already in place for general industry. The final rule is effective on Jan. 13, 2025. To learn more about the final rule read OSHA’s Frequently Asked Questions.
Tim Irving, acting director of the directorate of construction at OSHA, wrote about the final rule, stating that, “Unlike the general industry standard, the construction industry standard did not clearly state that PPE must adequately fit each affected employee. The revision requires that equipment fit each affected employee properly to protect them from occupational hazards.”
On July 20, 2023, OSHA issued a proposed rule clarifying the requirements for the fit of personal protective equipment in construction. Read the DOL’s press release. ABC, as a steering committee member of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition, submitted comments to OSHA in response to the PPE proposed rule on Sept. 18.
Learn more about personal protective equipment in construction.
Wage and Hour Division
Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations
On Aug. 23, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor officially published its final rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations, in the Federal Register. The regulation’s drastic revisions to existing rules regarding government-determined prevailing wage rates that must be paid to construction workers on federal and federally assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers took effect on Oct. 23.
ABC issued a statement opposing the new rule. All contracts entered into after Oct. 23 are subject to the new rule’s provisions. Additionally, in certain situations the rule may apply to existing contracts. This includes if a contract is changed to include substantial Davis-Bacon-covered work not within the scope of the original contract, if an option to extend a contract’s term is exercised and for ongoing contracts not tied to completion of a particular project.
On Nov. 7, 2023, ABC and the Southeast Texas Chapter announced the filing of a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, challenging the DOL’s final rule. The lawsuit is currently pending.
ABC issued a press release on the challenge, stating:
“Far from ‘updating’ the DOL’s enforcement of the Davis-Bacon Act, the final rule returns to failed policies of the 1970s and unlawfully expands coverage of prevailing wage requirements onto new projects and industries and increases its regulatory burden on small construction contractors working on federally funded contracts,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs. “The DOL’s final rule forces ABC to take legal action to address its numerous illegal provisions and protect its members, the free market and taxpayers from the devastating impacts of this regulation.”
ABC applauded a June 26, 2024, decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granting a nationwide preliminary injunction that blocks some provisions in the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule expanding the Davis-Bacon Act.
Associated General Contractors of America’s lawsuit asserted that the Biden administration lacks the legal authority to expand the law to cover manufacturing facilities miles away from projects and delivery truck drivers spending any amount of time on a jobsite, or to retroactively impose the measure on already-executed contracts, among other things. The court granted AGC’s motion for a nationwide preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking the AGC-challenged provisions.
“The preliminary injunction issued in response to AGC’s federal lawsuit is a victory for the construction industry and the rule of law. It strikes down the Biden administration’s effort to do an end-run around Congress via regulatory action that benefits special interests,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs.
“ABC’s pending federal lawsuit, filed in East Texas, targets other provisions in the DOL’s extreme overhaul of more than 50 Davis-Bacon Act regulations that undermine commonsense reforms put in place by the Reagan administration. We are hopeful ABC’s lawsuit will also prevail over the Biden administration’s regulatory overreach,” said Brubeck.
For more information on the final rule, see ABC’s previous Newsline article, ABC General Counsel Littler Mendelson’s analysis and ABC’s online resources at abc.org/davisbacon.
ABC also held a members-only webinar on the final rule on Aug. 21, and the recording is now available on the ABC Academy.
On Oct. 19, 2023, ABC member Mario Burgos testified on behalf of the association before the U.S. House Committee on Small Business to urge lawmakers to rein in the Biden administration’s inscrutable and burdensome wage determination practices under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.
On Nov. 15, 2023, Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., introduced a resolution (H.J. Res.103) under the Congressional Review Act providing for congressional disapproval of the final rule. Smucker’s Nov. 20 press release promoting the CRA highlights opposition from lawmakers, taxpayer watchdogs and dozens of construction industry groups to the rule. If a CRA joint resolution of disapproval is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress successfully overrides a presidential veto, the rule at issue cannot go into effect or continue in effect. Rep. Smucker’s CRA did not pass before the end of the 118th Congress.
Further, the DOL has provided compliance resources on the final rule.
Independent Contractor
According to the 2025 Spring Regulatory Agenda, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it intends to rescind the 2024 Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act final rule and is considering how it will proceed with respect to independent contractor classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act employee or under the FLSA.
On May 1, 2025, the DOL announced that it will pause enforcement of the 2024 Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act final rule in current enforcement matters while the agency reviews this regulation. ABC, its Southeast Texas chapter, the Coalition for Workforce Innovation and five other organizations are challenging the 2024 final rule in federal court, which is currently pending.
ABC is pleased that the DOL will not apply the Biden administration’s 2024 final rule’s analysis in current enforcement matters. This is welcome news for the many construction employers who depend on legitimate independent contractors to provide specialized skills, entrepreneurial opportunities and stability during fluctuations of work common to the industry, ABC said in a statement.
The Biden administration’s 2024 final independent contractor rule is confusing, vague and unworkable, and harms construction workers classified as independent contractors because they will lose crucial opportunities for work.ABC continues to support reinstatement of the Trump administration’s 2021 final rule, which simplified and clarified the factors for determining when a worker is an independent contractor versus an employee.
Following the DOL’s announcement, ABC’s general counsel Littler Mendelson issued an article, “DOL Hits Pause on Enforcement of Biden-Era Independent Contractor Rule, Suggests New or Changed Rule Forthcoming,” which includes the following information:
What's the DOL's New Guidepost?
“While the DOL’s review and reconsideration of the rule continues, the Field Assistance Bulletin notes that, effective May 1, 2025, the DOL will enforce the FLSA in accordance with Fact Sheet #13 (from July 2008, not March 2024) and as further informed by the reinstated Opinion Letter FLSA2019-6, which addresses classification in the context of virtual marketplace platforms.”
What Now for Employers?
“Employers should carefully review Fact Sheet 13 (from July 2008) because it varies significantly from the 2024 rule that DOL investigators or others may have been considering as controlling. Employers should also recall the dozens of different standards for independent contractor status under other employment laws, including those at the state and sometimes local level, and remain vigilant in complying with those laws while the DOL continues its review and likely dramatic altering of independent contractor criteria under the FLSA. Experience shows that those other employment laws also have shifting regulations or even statutory changes, so employers should not wait for a ‘quiet time’ in the world of worker classification to evaluate their policies and practices because that time may never arrive.”
For additional guidance beyond the field assistance bulletin, workers and employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free helpline, 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).
ABC members are encouraged to reach out to counsel with any questions regarding the DOL’s pause on enforcement of the 2024 independent contractor rule.
Joint Employer Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
According to the Spring Regulatory Agenda, the U.S. Department of Labor is considering a notice of proposed rulemaking to adopt regulations that would guide WHD’s enforcement of FLSA joint employer liability, and help promote greater uniformity among court decisions nationwide. Since 2021, the DOL has had no regulatory guidance addressing joint employer liability under the FLSA.
A proposed rule is expected in December 2025.
Overtime
On Nov. 15, 2024, ABC applauded the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, which vacated the U.S. Department of Labor’s controversial 2024 final rule, Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees. The rule changed overtime regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The court found that the Biden DOL’s 2024 overtime rule’s July 1, 2024, increase was unlawful as well as the scheduled Jan. 1, 2025, increase. Specifically, DOL’s final rule increased the minimum annual salary level threshold for exemption to $43,888 on July 1, and it was scheduled to increase to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025. In addition, the threshold for highly compensated employees increased to $132,964 on July 1, 2024, and was scheduled to increase to $151,164 on Jan. 1, 2025. Further, salary thresholds would have been updated every three years starting on July 1, 2027. ABC’s general counsel, Littler Mendelson, published an article discussing the court decision.
As a result of this decision, the minimum salary threshold for exemption is once again set to $35,568, and the threshold for highly compensated employees is set to $107,432. In May, ABC joined a coalition of business groups in filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas challenging the DOL’s overtime rule.
ABC immediately issued a news release applauding the decision stating, “This decision is the correct one, and an important win for ABC members and the rest of the regulated community. It’s also no surprise. In 2017, this court permanently enjoined the DOL’s 2016 overtime rule on similar grounds, writing that the rule increased the minimum salary level threshold for exemption far beyond a level which the DOL is permitted to adopt. The court also found unlawful the automatic indexing provision in the new rule that would have further increased the salary threshold without the notice-and-comment rulemaking required by the Administrative Procedure Act.”
On Nov. 26, the DOL appealed the Nov. 15 decision. Continue to monitor ABC’s Newsline for further updates.
Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts
On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump rescinded Executive Order 14055, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts, which required that contractors and subcontractors that work on covered federal service contracts offer service employees employed under the predecessor contract a right of first refusal of employment on the successor contract.
Because EO 14055 was rescinded, federal contractors will be able to hire new employees without first offering the predecessor’s employees a right of first refusal. Read Littler’s analysis for further information.
ABC federal contractor members are encouraged to contact counsel with any questions about the rescission of EO 14055.
On Dec. 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its final rule on Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contractors, which implemented EO 14055. Issued on Nov. 18, 2021, by President Joe Biden, the EO required that 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, must in good faith offer service employees employed under the predecessor contract a right of first refusal of employment on the successor contract. The final rule went into effect on Feb. 12, 2024.
On Aug. 15, 2022, ABC submitted comments to the DOL identifying a number of concerns with its proposed rule and urged the DOL to withdraw the rule in its entirety. The Obama administration finalized a similar rule which was rescinded by the Trump administration in 2020.
U.S. Department of Treasury
Inflation Reduction Act Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Regulations
On June 18, 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Internal Revenue Service announced its final rule, which requires private developers to follow onerous project labor agreement, prevailing wage and apprenticeship policies when building clean energy projects funded by more than $270 billion in tax credits via the ABC-opposed Inflation Reduction Act. Read ABC’s news release opposing the final rule.
Unfortunately, many concerning provisions of the proposed rule flagged by industry and clean energy advocates during the comment period were not appropriately addressed in the final rule, which increases risk and uncertainty for developers seeking tax credits and contractors delivering these important projects. Coupled with construction materials inflation of more than 40% since February 2020 and a labor shortage, this Biden administration’s latest regulation means clean energy projects are much more expensive, and many of those projects will be mothballed or cancelled.
According to the final rule, developers must certify that their contractors pay all construction workers prevailing wages and benefits determined by the U.S. Department of Labor in accordance with the federal Davis-Bacon Act. Developers must also ensure that contractors utilize apprentices enrolled in government-registered apprenticeship programs for 15% of all construction labor hours performed on a project, among other requirements. Project developers that satisfy both of these new provisions are eligible for a 500% increase in various clean energy construction project tax credits compared to baseline tax credits offered to developers under prior regulations widely used by industry. In addition, developers that require contractors to execute PLAs with labor unions are immune from new monetary penalties if the developer and its contractors fail to meet cumbersome prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules.
Government-mandated PLAs box out almost 90% of the U.S. construction workforce that does not belong to union––an especially irresponsible decision when the construction industry faces a labor shortage of more than half a million people. In addition, PLA schemes increase costs 12% to 20% by imposing inefficient work rules and discouraging competition from quality contractors that have been successfully building clean energy projects for decades.
The final rule is effective 60 days after it is be published in the federal register on June 25, 2024, but developers are currently following the previous proposed rule requirements issued by the IRS.
In October 2023, ABC conducted a survey of contractor members regarding the proposed rule. In the survey, 98% of respondents stated that prevailing wage and apprenticeship mandates imposed by the Inflation Reduction Act will make them less likely to bid on clean energy projects. On Oct. 31, ABC utilized this survey data in comments to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Internal Revenue Service in response to the proposed rule. Read ABC’s news release on the comments.
ABC also led a coalition of 13 construction and business associations in comments urging the IRS to provide regulatory clarity and to abandon its illegal and coercive scheme to push clean energy project developers into requiring PLAs.
ABC encourages ABC members and other contractors to connect with more than 400 government-registered apprenticeship programs offered by ABC chapters that can help contractors meet IRA apprenticeship requirements and win contracts for clean energy projects seeking the full IRA tax credits.
ABC will be issuing additional detailed analysis in the coming weeks to complement the July 11 ABC members-only webinar on the final rule. In the interim, ABC members and developers are encouraged to review the IRS press release, IRS PWA Overview, IRS PWA Fact Sheet, IRS FAQs, and White House Fact Sheet. The U.S. DOL’s Prevailing Wage and the Inflation Reduction Act Overview and the U.S. Treasury and U.S. DOL Blog Post on Project Labor Agreements may be of additional interest.
Review additional resources on the IRA tax credits for clean energy projects at abc.org/ira.
FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements
On Sept. 9, 2025, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions held a hearing titled, “Evaluating the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.” During the hearing, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network director, Andrea Gacki, provided updates on the ABC-opposed Corporate Transparency Act and its beneficial ownership information reporting requirements.
“We intend to finalize this rule in the upcoming year—that’s our public commitment,” said Director Gacki during the hearing. “We’re making sure we have administration guidance and are working through a number of comments that we received to the interim final rule.”
The database that collected the BOI is not just unnecessary; it actively puts millions of Americans’ sensitive information at risk. Regarding the collection of this data, Director Gacki noted, “Along with the resolution of this rule, we also intend to resolve questions around the data that we have collected and dispose of data that is no longer legally required.”
In March, FinCEN announced an interim final rule that removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN under the Corporate Transparency Act.
FinCEN’s release states, “In that interim final rule, FinCEN revises the definition of ‘reporting company’ in its implementing regulations to mean only those entities that are formed under the law of a foreign country and that have registered to do business in any U.S. State or Tribal jurisdiction by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or similar office (formerly known as ‘foreign reporting companies’). FinCEN also exempts entities previously known as ‘domestic reporting companies’ from BOI reporting requirements.”
The release further states, “Thus, through this interim final rule, all entities created in the United States — including those previously known as ‘domestic reporting companies — and their beneficial owners will be exempt from the requirement to report BOI to FinCEN. Foreign entities that meet the new definition of a ‘reporting company’ and do not qualify for an exemption from the reporting requirements must report their BOI to FinCEN under new deadlines.”
For more information, read the Interim Final Rule: Questions and Answers and visit the BOI website.
In January, ABC joined more than 100 trade associations to request relief from the CTA.
ABC encourages members and small business owners to consult with counsel about BOI reporting.
Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council
Use of Project Labor Agreement for Federal Construction Projects
On Feb. 4, 2022, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14063, Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects. Effective Jan. 22, 2024, following a multiyear rulemaking by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, federal agencies are requiring every prime contractor and subcontractor on a federal construction project of $35 million or more performed within the United States to sign a PLA as a condition of winning a taxpayer-funded contract.
On Dec. 18, 2023, President Biden announced a final rule implementing the PLA mandate on all federal projects over $35 million and issued a White House Office of Management and Budget memo to agency heads.
On June 12, 2025 the White House’s Office of Management and Budget issued new guidance to federal agencies regarding implementation of project labor agreement mandates, saying the Trump administration will continue to enforce former President Joe Biden’s policy.
Unfortunately, as ABC said in a statement, this memorandum doubles down on the anti-competitive policy. ABC members can tell President Trump to rescind this policy through ABC’s action alert.
Bid protests through the U.S. Court of Federal Claims are currently the best strategy for overturning PLA mandates on individual projects. ABC National can help connect members with experienced attorneys if they are interested in filing bid protests. If members need financial assistance with their challenge, the Construction Legal Rights Foundation will consider applications as quickly as possible.
Further, members should reach out to ABC National if they need assistance completing PLA market research surveys, which may help agencies avoid PLA requirements. Under the guidance, limited exceptions to the PLA mandate may be possible if contracting officers can demonstrate expected price increases of more than 10%.
Previously, ABC member federal contractors filed several successful bid protests at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims against PLA mandates in federal agency solicitations for construction services and, on Jan. 19, 2025, the court ruled in favor of the ABC members and ordered the federal agencies to remove the PLA mandate from the relevant solicitations.
On March 28, 2024, ABC and its Florida First Coast chapter filed suit against the federal government seeking to overturn the final rule. ABC’s complaint asserts that President Biden lacks the legal and constitutional authority to impose the mandate as it will injure economy and efficiency in federal contracting and illegally steer construction contracts to certain unionized contractors. ABC issued a press release regarding the challenge.
On March 28, 2025, the Jacksonville court issued a ruling denying ABC’s motion for preliminary injunction. However, the ruling also stated that it is “highly likely” that the PLA mandate executive order and rule violate the Competition in Contracting Act, indicating that ABC is likely to prevail in a final decision on the merits of the case. On April 23, ABC appealed the denial of the preliminary injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, and the court granted expedited consideration of the appeal. The case is ongoing.
On April 9, the North America’s Building Trades Unions filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia against President Donald Trump’s administration seeking to overturn exemptions to the PLA mandate issued by DOD and GSA and reinstate the PLA mandate on DOD and GSA procurements. ABC issued a statement denouncing NABTU’s opposition to fair and open competition.
Unfortunately, on May 16, the court granted NABTU’s request for a preliminary injunction against the DOD and GSA, blocking the exemptions and establishing that the PLA mandate once again applies to all federal construction projects over $35 million. Agencies still have the option to seek case-by-case exceptions to the mandate.
ABC issued a statement disagreeing with the decision and will continue to advocate for President Trump to rescind the Biden-era policy and replace it with a new executive order that promotes fair and open competition and protects federal and federally assisted construction contracts from government-mandated PLAs, allowing merit shop contractors to have a fair chance to win work.
Previously, on Oct. 18, 2022, ABC filed extensive formal comments in opposition to the FAR Council’s Aug. 19, 2022, proposal.
ABC’s opposition to the FAR Council’s proposed rule was shared by more than 50 members of the U.S. House and Senate, 19 Republican governors and a diverse coalition of construction industry, small business and taxpayer advocates urging the administration to withdraw its proposed rule and other Biden administration schemes pushing government-mandated PLAs on state and local government construction projects receiving federal assistance including $260 billion via infrastructure grant programs.
Learn more about government-mandated PLAs and Biden administration pro-PLA policies via ABC’s 2024 FAQ document and the coalition website at BuildAmericaLocal.com.
According to a September 2022 survey of ABC contractor members, 98% oppose this proposed rule. Additionally, 97% said a construction contract that required a PLA would be more expensive compared to a contract procured via fair and open competition, 99% said they were less likely to bid on a taxpayer-funded construction contract if the bid specifications required the winning firm to sign a PLA with labor unions and 97% of respondents said that government-mandated PLAs decrease economy and efficiency in government contracting.
ABC issued an action alert that members can use to urge members of Congress to co-sponsor the Fair and Open Competition Act in the 119th Congress to eliminate the Biden pro-PLA policies and restore merit-based competition on federal and federally assisted construction projects.
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program 2.0
On Sept. 10, 2025, the U.S. Department of Defense issued a final rule implementing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program, which assesses defense contractors’ compliance and implementation of cybersecurity requirements. This completes the multiyear process to finalize CMMC 2.0, which will now be phased in over a three-year implementation period beginning Nov. 10. ABC will soon announce a webinar to assist members with compliance.
The new requirements apply to all contractors and subcontractors on DOD projects that process, store or transmit information on contractor servers that meet the standards for Federal Contract Information or Controlled Unclassified Information. Requirements vary from a self-assessment of compliance with cybersecurity measures to triennial assessment and certification of compliance by third-party contractors or the DOD, depending on the data involved in a specific contract.
Based on public comments by ABC and others, the final rule removed a burdensome and duplicative requirement to report lapses in information security to the contracting officer within 72 hours, provided a definition of Federal Contract Information and made other clarifications.
Previously, the CMMC proposed rule was published on Dec. 26, 2023. On Feb. 26, 2024, ABC joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and eight other groups in submitting comments on the proposed rule. The organizations called for more clarity (e.g., definitions), expressed concerns about costs and asked questions regarding capacity and other process and organizational issues. The comments urged flexible implementation of CMMC program requirements.
On Oct. 11, ABC submitted comments on a related August 2024 Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement rule, Assessing Contractor Implementation of Cybersecurity Requirements. This rule was part of the process to implement CMMC 2.0 into DOD contracts. ABC’s comments again called for critical clarifications and improvements to ensure CMMC 2.0 does not unnecessarily burden federal contractors. ABC also engaged over 200 members to submit comments urging the DOD to improve the rule through ABC’s grassroots regulatory efforts. Finally, ABC joined an Oct. 15 comment letter from a coalition of industry groups.
On Oct. 15, the DOD issued its final rule establishing CMMC 2.0 program requirements. According to analysis by Wiley’s cybersecurity legal practice group, “The final rule also offers some clarity for contractors about the security requirements they will need to address under CMMC 2.0. The final rule incorporates by reference the security requirements in certain existing publications, such as NIST SP 800-171 Revision 2.”
ABC will continue to provide resources for complying with federal cybersecurity requirements, including webinars that took place on CMMC on July 25 and Sept. 25 available in the ABC Academy and a Cybersecurity Resources Guide.
National Labor Relations Board
Joint Employer
On July 19, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board moved to withdraw its appeal of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas’ decision to vacate the 2023 Joint Employer final rule, which means the court’s favorable decision will become final. The Board had appealed the decision on May 7.
On March 8, the district court vacated the 2023 final rule. Under the court’s decision, the ABC-supported 2020 Joint Employer Final Rule, which provides clear criteria for companies to apply when determining their joint employer status, remains in effect today.
ABC issued a release stating, “We are pleased the Board decided to withdraw its appeal of the court’s decision and that the court’s ruling to block the NLRB’s radical and overbroad joint employer standard is now final,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs. “The 2023 final rule would have disrupted long-established, efficient operational processes that are followed by construction service providers who work together to build America. And it clearly would have had a harmful effect on a significant segment of the construction industry: small businesses.
“Because the ABC-supported 2020 final rule remains in effect, contractors will be better able to work and coordinate with multiple employers without fear of being unexpectedly and unfairly found to be joint employers,” said Brubeck. On Nov. 9, 2023, ABC joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business groups in filing a lawsuit challenging the NLRB’s final rule for violating the National Labor Relations Act and for acting arbitrarily and capriciously in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
Federal Trade Commission
Ban on Noncompete Agreements
In a win for ABC members, on Aug. 20, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas blocked the Federal Trade Commission from implementing its rule to ban noncompete agreements. The court found that the FTC lacked statutory authority to promulgate the rule and that the rule is arbitrary and capricious. This means the rule will not be enforced or otherwise take effect on Sept. 4, 2024.
On Oct. 18, the FTC appealed the court’s Aug. 20 decision. However, on Sept. 5, 2025, the FTC voted 3-1 to dismiss the appeal.
On May 2024, ABC joined a broad group of trade associations in filing an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief against the FTC’s final rule to ban noncompete clauses.
ABC is extremely pleased with the court’s Aug. 20 decision and has consistently stated that ABC members have valid business justifications for utilizing noncompete agreements, such as protecting confidential information and intellectual property. The new rule would have had a harmful effect on member companies as well as their employees, forcing employers to rework their compensation and talent strategies.
Environmental Protection Agency
Waters of the United States
On March 12, 2025, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency will be working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” subject to Clean Water Act regulation and permitting.
Administrator Zeldin stated that the purpose of the review will be to ensure clear and consistent rules for the regulated community and bring the EPA into full compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, while continuing to protect America’s navigable waters from pollution. Learn more from ABC’s Newsline article.
Previously, On Aug. 29, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers issued a final rule and fact sheet regarding amendments to the definition of “waters of the United States” subject to Clean Water Act regulation. This rule is aimed at bringing the January 2023 WOTUS final rule into compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 25 decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency.
ABC issued a statement in response to the rule, with Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs Ben Brubeck stating:
“Unfortunately, these revisions fail to fully implement the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which placed clear boundaries on the scope of the federal government’s authority while maintaining reasonable environmental protections for America’s waterways.”
The rule implements some of the key wins from the Sackett decision, including by eliminating the “significant nexus” test. However, it fails to fully implement the court’s opinion, including on the definition of “relatively permanent” waters, and may result in continued regulatory uncertainty.
The final rule took effect on Sept. 8, 2023, after being published in the Federal Register. The amended version of the January 2023 final rule is now in effect, except in states where it is currently blocked by a preliminary injunction. Read more about the final rule.
Council on Environmental Quality
National Environmental Policy Act
On Feb. 25, 2025, the Council on Environmental Quality issued an interim final rule repealing all National Environmental Policy Act regulations previously issued by CEQ and provided federal agencies with guidance on how to enforce NEPA going forward, in accordance with President Trump’s executive order on Unleashing American Energy. As outlined in the guidance, CEQ will now work with federal agencies to assist them in developing their own NEPA regulations with the goal of expediting permitting approvals. ABC issued a statement supporting the administration’s action on permitting reform.
On March 27, ABC joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business groups in submitting comments on the interim final rule supporting the Trump administration’s efforts to streamline permitting regulations and providing feedback on areas where improvements can be made.
The interim final rule is effective April 11.
ABC will continue to provide updates on these and other rulemakings in Newsline.