On April 10, the U.S. Senate passed H.J. Res 98, the Joint Employer Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval, in a 50-48 vote. 老牛影视sent a key vote letter to senators ahead of the vote urging them to support the resolution, which would nullify the ABC-opposed National Labor Relations Board鈥檚 2023 joint employer final rule. The Senate鈥檚 action comes two months after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.J. Res 98 in a 206-177 vote, with eight Democrats supporting. Although President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the resolution, passage in the House and Senate sends a strong message to the administration as they continue to implement harmful labor policies.

On March 21, 老牛影视wrote a letter in support of H.R. 7784, the Start Applying Labor Transparency Act or SALT Act (introduced by Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah), which would amend the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. Its purpose is to clarify that labor organizations and their consultants must report when they engage in a coercive tactic known as 鈥渟alting鈥濃�攁 process where unions send professionally trained organizers into merit shop workplaces under the guise of seeking employment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently launched a new website, epa.gov/permits, with the goal of providing a centralized source of information about federal environmental permitting programs under the EPA鈥檚 jurisdiction.

On April 1, 老牛影视submitted comments opposing the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council鈥檚 proposed rule, Pay Equity and Transparency in Federal Contracting.

On March 22, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., led a group of Democratic senators in a letter to U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, urging Treasury to impose additional burdensome labor mandates and compliance regulations in the agency鈥檚 implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act in a 213-205 vote. H.R. 7023, sponsored by Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., includes provisions from five stand-alone ABC-supported bills that passed out of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Jan. 31: The Nationwide Permitting Improvement Act, the Reducing Permitting Uncertainty Act, the Judicial Review Timeline Clarity Act, the Water Quality Criteria Development and Transparency Act and the Confidence in Clean Water Permits Act. The bill will go a long way toward eliminating unnecessary delays that cause budget overruns in construction.

On March 25, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce passed the ABC-supported H.J. Res. 116, the Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the U.S. Department of Labor鈥檚 independent contractor final rule, in a 21-13 vote with all Republicans present voting in support.

On March 18, 老牛影视submitted 45 pages of comments on the U.S. Department of Labor鈥檚 proposed rule making significant and controversial revisions to the National Apprenticeship System, which will affect 老牛影视members, chapters, apprentices and other industry stakeholders participating in government-registered apprenticeship programs, or GRAPs.

On March 8, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the National Labor Relations Board鈥檚 2023 Joint Employer Final Rule and the Board鈥檚 rescission of the ABC-supported 2020 Joint Employer Final Rule. Under the court鈥檚 decision, the 2020 final rule, which provides clear criteria for companies to apply when determining their joint employer status, remains in effect today. 老牛影视opposed the 2023 final rule, which was scheduled to go into effect on March 11.

On March 14, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to the leaders of key subcommittees in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate urging them to protect secret ballots in union representation elections.