AFS Supported Regulatory Reform Bill Approved by House
In early January, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act (H.R. 712) by a vote of 244 – 173.
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House Passes Bill To Eliminate Burdensome Rules
The House approved an AFS supported measure on Jan. 7 requiring retrospective reviews of federal regulations to eliminate burdensome rules and preventing new regulations from being enacted without repeal of an existing regulation.
Deadlines Extended for Affordable Care Act’s 2015 Information Reporting Requirements
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2016-4, which extends the deadlines for the 2015 information reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
EEOC Releases New Reporting Requirements on Employee Pay
On January 29, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) unveiled a new proposed rule which would require companies with more than 100 employees to submit employee W-2 earnings and hours worked.
Supreme Court Blocks EPA’s Clean Power Plan for the Electricity Sector
On Tuesday, February 9, the U.S. Supreme Court halted the implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) landmark carbon rule for power plants while it's being challenged in court.
Congressman Works to Include Language in Appropriations Bill Requiring OSHA to Conduct Additional Reviews Before Finalizing Silica Standard
Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) is circulating a Dear Colleague letter in the House of Representatives urging lawmakers to sign a letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting the Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) Labor funding bill include language that would prohibit funding for OSHA to promulgate or implement a silica rule until additional studies and reports are completed.
Stringent OSHA Silica Rule Cuts Permissible Exposure Limit in Half
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) formally released its final silica rule on March 24. The core provisions of the rule as it was originally proposed in 2013 have remained relatively unchanged. The rule will lower the permissible exposure for crystalline silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (50 µg/cu.m), averaged over an eight-hour shift, from the current 100 µg/cu.m.
AFS Holds Webinar on OSHA’s New Silica Rule, Readies Industry for Compliance
On April 12, AFS hosted a Silica webinar to help the metalcasting industry navigate OSHA’s new crystalline silica rule.
AFS Member Voices Industry’s Concerns With OSHA’s Silica Rule at House Hearing
On April 19, the House Committee on Education Workforce Protections Subcommittee held a hearing on the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) recently finalized crystalline silica rule and the impact it will have on the nation’s workplaces.
U.S. Labor Department Issues Final Rule on Overtime
Under a final rule published by the U.S. Department of Labor on May 23, the minimum salary threshold for employees to be considered overtime "exempt" under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will double beginning December 1, 2016.