In advance of a hearing on the topic,听ABC听sent a letter听April 14 to the U.S. House of Representatives encouraging Congress to repeal the employer mandate included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 听

The NLRB鈥檚 controversial final rule overhauling its procedures for union elections, commonly known as the 鈥渁mbush鈥� elections rule, will be going into effect April 14 unless a court blocks enforcement of the new rule.

In a study evaluating Wisconsin鈥檚 approach to calculating prevailing wages and its financial impact on taxpayers, the nonpartisan, nonprofit, and independent Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX)听found听at least two methodological 鈥渇laws鈥� that tend to raise prevailing wages above market rates.

A听new report听released by the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) found that OSHA's proposed silica standards for construction will cost the industry $5 billion per year鈥攔oughly $4 .5 billion per year more than OSHA鈥檚 estimates. The coalition cautioned that the flawed cost estimates reflect deeper flaws in the rule and urged the federal agency to reconsider its approach.

老牛影视joined several organizations in听strongly urging听the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to retain the current ozone standards when finalizing the proposed rulemaking set to revise the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone under the Clean Air Act (Act).听

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Feb. 23 issued the long-anticipated听proposal听to address the commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also referred to as drones. The proposal was introduced after the FAA previously failed to meet numerous deadlines to provide a regulatory framework for non-recreational use of small UAS. The proposed rule is expected to go into effect January 1, 2017.

OSHA released an听interpretation letter听stating that construction contractors are allowed to require employees to pay a deposit for company-issued personal protection equipment (PPE) so that it provides an incentive for the employee to return the equipment. Contractors should be aware that this does not circumvent the requirement that employers provide protection equipment at no expense to the workers.听

An updated summary of employer requirements included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is available for 老牛影视members in a reference document provided by Washington Council Ernst & Young. The document is available on the听Health Care Law Employer Toolkit听(login required) on ABC鈥檚 website.

ABC鈥檚 Regulatory Alert provides an overview of federally mandated rules, regulations and enforcement actions from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal agencies. Following are brief summaries of current issues, as well as links to more detailed information and guidance.听

A group of Congressmen Feb. 9 wrote a joint resolution Feb. 9 that would stop the implementation of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ambush election rule.听The resolution was introduced听by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), with the support of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Sen. Alexander is chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Rep. Kline is chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education.