Dear ASA Members,
I am so excited for everything on the horizon right now at ASA. We have so many amazing things happening, and I hope you are just as joyful for the future as I am. In so many ways I feel like we are turning a corner towards a new, brighter tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see where the future takes us.
Providing our members with incredible education is so important, and we have THREE different webinars lined up for the month of May!
First on May 12th we have “Planning for Recovery for SMB Contractors”, which will be presented by our friends at Procore.
Then on May 19th the Small Business Administration will be holding “ASA Day with SBA”, something I know will be an important session for so many.
Just a few days later on May 26th, Gary Semmer from the great folks at AssuredPartners will be presenting “Does Your Insurance Program Cover All the Insurance Requirements in the Contracts You’re Signing?”
I highly encourage you to register for all three of these important sessions. More exciting webinars will be offered through the year, and are all included in your ASA membership!
Many exciting things are happening on the advocacy front as well. I am honored to announce the virtual launch of the Construction Procurement Caucus (CPC) on Wednesday, April 21, 2021. The CPC serves as a bipartisan forum for Members of Congress to discuss ways to improve efficiency in the federal government procurement process with the goal of promoting common sense design and construction services and procurement reforms to benefit the government, taxpayers, and businesses of all sizes. I want to thank the ASA Government Relations Committee (GRC) for their leadership working with the Construction Industry Procurement Coalition (CIPC) in the formation of such an important caucus to allow our important legislative issues to be heard and to be heard loudly throughout the halls of Congress. Finally, I want to thank the CPC Co-Chairs: Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) – 52nd District Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) – 8th District for their leadership and all of the members of Congress, who support this caucus. I remain confident we will be hearing about the benefits of this caucus throughout the 117th Congress.
In late March, former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as the new Secretary of Labor. I congratulate the new Secretary and I am informed his initial orders of business are expected to be largely focused on COVID and broader Administration agenda items. For example, back in January President Biden instructed OSHA (which is part of the Department of Labor (DOL)) to issue proposed COVID-related workplace safety rules. While OSHA issued interim guidance, it missed the March 15th deadline set forth by the President to issue proposed rules and is still working to respond. Additionally, Secretary Walsh is also one of the members of the cabinet who have been tasked to help sell the President’s new infrastructure proposal.
Beyond the immediate COVID concerns and legislative pushes, DOL also has a number of other regulatory items on its plate that are important for us to stay aware of including the independent contractor rule, which ASA commented on during the Trump Administration. This rule focuses on when a worker can be classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee. The rule was originally slated to go into effect on March 8, 2021 and on March 11, 2021, the DOL issued a notice of its intent to entirely withdraw and strike the Trump independent contractor rule. The notice is being held open for 30 days for comment.
Another area where the DOL has been charting a change of course relates to the rules for when two companies will be considered joint employers for the purpose of liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In early 2020, the Trump Administration issued a new rule narrowing the instances in which two entities will be considered joint employers. On March 11th, the DOL issued a proposed rule to repeal the Trump Administration’s joint employer rule and to revert back to the prior rule promulgated by the Obama Administration that expanded the instances in which companies can be considered joint employers. Also, on our DOL radar is the upcoming rules on tipped employees, overtime, and remote workers. We look forward to the GRC updates on all of these pending DOL regulatory actions.
ASA is constantly hard at work for its members, and as always we are stronger when we stand together. I look forward to seeing all of you as soon as we can safely be together. Until then, keep up the incredible work you are doing in your communities and for ASA.
God Bless,
Brian Cooper
ASA President 2020-2021
