The Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2023-18 to establish the Inflation Reduction Act program to allocate $10 billion of section 48C (Qualifying Advanced Energy Product Credit) credits for qualified investments in eligible qualifying advanced energy projects (the section 48C(e) program).
The U.S. Census Bureau launched a new experimental data product that features monthly construction spending estimates for private manufacturing. These estimates measure the construction work done on private new manufacturing structures or improvements to existing structures and include the cost of labor and materials, architectural and engineering work, overhead, interest, taxes paid during construction and contractor’s profits.
The Economic Policy Institute published a new analysis quantifying the impact on workers in 11 occupations when they are misclassified as independent contractors. Of particular importance for SWACCA, the analysis found that construction workers lost between $10,177 to $16,729 when they are misclassified—the second most of any occupation, listed behind trucking ($11,076 to $18,053).
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the issuance of new enforcement guidance in a stated effort to “make its penalties more effective in stopping employers from repeatedly exposing workers to life-threatening hazards or failing to comply with certain workplace safety and health requirements.”
The Environmental Protection Agency announced the first opportunities for public input on new programs focused on lowering carbon and greenhouse gas emissions from construction materials. These new programs were made possible by a $350 million investment through the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration held a meeting of its National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health on Jan. 10 to hear updates from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Jim Frederick and a report from NACOSH’s Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Work Group.
On Jan. 5, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission released the text of a soon-to-be-published proposed rule banning non-compete clauses in employment contracts that is expected to impact one in five U.S. workers—or 30 million Americans. The proposal makes it an unfair method of competition under the Federal Trade Commission Act for an employer to enter into or attempt to enter into a non-compete clause with a worker, to maintain a non-compete clause with a worker or to represent to a worker that he or she is subject to a non-compete clause.
On Dec. 20, the U.S. Senate released the text of its 4,000+ page fiscal year 2023 omnibus funding bill to avoid a potential federal government shutdown on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Louisiana v. Biden, has blocked the Biden Administration from enforcing his COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors in Louisiana, Mississippi and Indiana after the court found that President Biden overstepped his authority.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration announced a public meeting of the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship on Jan. 12, 2023, focused on youth apprenticeship and finalizing the priorities for the upcoming year. Specific agenda items include remarks from ETA leadership and other apprenticeship stakeholders, a youth apprenticeship panel, insights regarding youth apprenticeship site visits, subcommittee reports regarding the “Strategic Framework” and “Year Two Focus,” and public comments.
