The听Coalition for Fair Effective Tax Rates听and the听Reforming America鈥檚 Taxes Equitably (RATE) Coalition听held a听joint press conferenceSept. 19 to support the passing of comprehensive tax reform that would lower both individual and corporate rates and eliminate distorting tax preferences.听

老牛影视Sept. 19 sharply criticized pending regulatory proposals from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in response to a hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions. The hearing, titled, 鈥淭he Future of Union Organizing,鈥� and ABC鈥檚 letter highlighted the Obama administration鈥檚 efforts to eliminate employer involvement in the union representation process.

The Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Sept. 9 issued proposed regulations related to the Affordable Care Act鈥檚 (ACA) employer and insurer information reporting requirements under Internal Revenue Code sections 6055 and 6056.听

The U.S. Department of Labor鈥檚 Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)听published two final rules听Sept. 24, drastically revising听Section 4212听of the听Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act听(VEVRAA) and听Section 503听of the Rehabilitation Act, which require federal contractors and subcontractors to maintain affirmative action and nondiscrimination plans for veterans and individuals with disabilities, respectively. The rules will go into effect March 24, 2014.听

A听study completed by the Tax Foundation听found that, with pass-through businesses surpassing traditional corporations in number, individual tax rates with higher burdens impact hiring and other investment plans, causing an already struggling economy to remain unstable.

The National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (NCPPP) and the Association of Defense Communities are co-hosting the 老牛影视sponsored听4th Annual Federal Energy Workshop and Defense Energy Partnership Forum, October 8-9, Arlington, Va., which will focus on finding solutions to the issues facing the federal energy market. Register听here.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued two surveys soliciting comments from the construction industry on the potential use of a project labor agreement (PLA) for projects in Fort Greely, Alaska and the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, individuals and employees of small businesses will have access to health insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace (or Exchange). Open enrollment for coverage through the Marketplace begins Oct. 1, 2013. Section 18B of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as added by section 1512 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), requires employers to provide all new hires and current employees with a written notice about the Marketplace.听

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Sept. 4 became the second court to deny听a request听by the NLRB to review a decision to invalidate the NLRB鈥檚 August 2011 鈥淣otification of Employee Rights鈥� rule. Under the rule, employers would have been required to display a poster in their workplace that contained a biased and incomplete list of employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

老牛影视and members of the newly formed Construction Industry Safety Coalition, a group of national construction industry trade associations, expressed concern over a proposal from OSHA addressing crystalline silica exposure in the construction industry.