On Feb. 6, the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a final rule adding an applicability date of Feb. 6, 2020 to the 2015 rule defining 鈥渨aters of the United States鈥� (WOTUS). The agencies finalized the rule in order to provide the regulated community clarity and certainty about which definition of WOTUS is applicable nationwide.

On Jan. 26, the National Labor Relations Board announced an extension for the public to submit responses related to its Request for Information on the 2014 鈥渁mbush鈥� election final rule, also known as Representation-Case Procedures. The deadline for submitting information has been extended from Feb. 12 to March 19, 2018.听

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has completed its mailing of the 2017 EEO-1 survey notification letters, according to a Jan. 24 press release issued by the agency.听The annual survey requires all private employers with 100 or more employees and federal government contractors or first-tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees and a contract/subcontract of $50,000 or more to file the EEO-1 report.听

The Clean Power Plan proposed and finalized during the Obama administration would increase electricity costs by $40.5 billion while reducing the GDP by an average of $59 billion each year, cutting more than 375,000 jobs by 2030, 老牛影视told the Environmental Protection Agency on Jan. 16. 老牛影视submitted comments in support of the agency鈥檚 proposed rule to repeal the 2015 rule.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently announced that covered employers can now electronically report their calendar year 2017 Form 300A data through OSHA鈥檚听Injury Tracking Application (ITA). Covered establishments are required to submit the information by July 1, 2018.听Learn which establishments are covered by this requirement and need to provide their 2017 data through听OSHA鈥檚 ITA.

Over the last year, the Trump administration has taken major steps to roll back burdensome rules and regulations issued by the Obama administration. In his first two months in office, President Trump signed Executive Order 13777, 鈥淓nforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,鈥� and Executive Order 13771, 鈥淩educing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,鈥� which create regulatory reform task forces to remove burdensome regulations and prevent agencies from issuing unnecessary regulations with a so-called 鈥渙ne in, two out鈥� policy.听

On Dec. 14, the Trump administration released its Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda lists upcoming rulemakings and other regulatory actions from each agency that the administration expects to release through the end of the year and in 2018.听

On Dec. 19, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued several fact sheets that provide guidance on the respirable crystalline silica standard for construction. The fact sheets include an overview of the silica standard as well as provide information to help employers comply.听

The National Labor Relations Board recently issued听decisions that are favorable to the employer community. On Dec. 14, the Board听overruled both the 2015 decision in Browning-Ferris听Industries as well as the Lutheran听Heritage Village-Livonia case. On Dec. 15, the Board overruled the decision听in Specialty Healthcare, which allowed for the formation of so-called 'micro鈥櫶齜argaining units.

On Dec. 18, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced in a press release that they will continue accepting 2016 OSHA Form 300A data through the Injury Tracking Application (ITA) until midnight on Dec. 31, 2017. OSHA will not take enforcement action against those employers who submit their reports after the Dec. 15, 2017 deadline but before Dec. 31, 2017 final entry date. Starting Jan. 1, 2018, the ITA will no longer accept the 2016 data.