On July 31, President Obama issued the latest, and most far-reaching, executive order in a series of presidential directives imposing new mandates on federal contractors.  The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (“EO”) purports to help federal agencies “identify and work with contractors with track records of compliance” with labor laws in order to “reduce execution delays and avoid distractions and complications that arise from contracting with contractors with track records of noncompliance.”  It imposes several new obligations on federal contractors and contracting agencies, increasing the burdens and risks for covered contractors.  It does not cover federally-assisted contracts.

Tell Them to Fix the Highway Trust Fund When They Return to Capitol Hill in September Congress is in recess and working in their home states for the month of August.  While they are home, they need to hear from you.  Please contact your Representative and Senator and urge them to fix the Highway Trust Fund before the end of the year. 

On Tuesday, Missouri voters defeated a proposed statewide sales tax that would have raised billions of dollars for transportation improvements. Constitutional Amendment 7, rejected by nearly 59 percent of voters, would have increased the sales tax by three-quarter percent for the next ten years and generated about $5.4 billion in revenue directed specifically for transportation.

A newly proposed rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would give the agency the authority to cut into the paychecks of those who owe it a debt, such as a fine or penalty for an environmental violation.  EPA would be allowed to garnish up to 15 percent of the “disposable pay” of delinquent debtors who do not work for the federal government via a process known as administrative wage garnishment – all without a court order.

Appointed Sen. John Walsh (D-MT), reeling from published reports that he plagiarized his War College thesis, said the effects upon his campaign from the revelation is causing him to end his effort to win election to the seat.  Walsh had been appointed in February to succeed Sen. Max Baucus (D), who resigned early to become U.S. Ambassador to China.  Walsh had been the state's sitting Lt. Governor.

Kansas While Gov. Sam Brownback (R) looked to be the weakest Kansas Republican statewide official, it was Sen. Pat Roberts (R) who won re-nomination with the smallest vote percentage.

New government data today show the uneven nature of the construction industry's recovery, as the sector added 22,000 jobs in July, but suffered a pullback in spending in June, according to an analysis by AGC of America.

This week, AGC sent a letter opposing the possible use of a project labor agreement (PLA) mandate posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a construction project at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii.

On July 31, President Obama issued an executive order (EO) that will require prospective federal contractors to disclose labor law violations from the past three years before they can win a contract.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has different definitions of what constitutes a seasonal employee or worker when determining the size of an employer and whether an employer must offer insurance to those employees.