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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated its COVID-19 technical assistance, What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws, in response to the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Declaration, appearing to give employers permission to continue many of their COVID-19 practices and protocols. The “ADA” is the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Sign up for 91����Ƶ’s complimentary webinar to learn how your company can access workers through employment authorization and immigration work visas.

On May 1, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued its decision in Lion Elastomers and United Steelworkers, making it more difficult for employers to discipline employees for outbursts and similar misconduct while employees are engaged in protected concerted activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”).

A coalition of environmental advocacy groups, including Beyond Plastics, Environmental Health Sciences, and the Plastic Pollution Coalition, released a report calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide guidance on a safe alternative to PVC for replacing lead water service lines. The coalition claims that PVC is hazardous to human health and warns that communities replacing their lead service lines with PVC would be “leaping from the frying pan into the fire.” The report, however, lacks new research to justify such regulatory action, as the groups admit “research on this topic is thin.”

On May 10, the White House released new permitting priorities to advance its climate change policy goals. The White House touched on a few reforms that 91����Ƶ has previously supported, such as reducing the length of federal decision documents, reasonable decision time frames for projects, and improving federal coordination and information sharing. However, the priorities are limited to largely transmission and renewable energy projects as well as clean energy infrastructure.

An 91����Ƶ-backed lawsuit has led the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota to issue a preliminary injunction of the Biden Administration’s 2023 “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule in 24 states (see below) on April 12. Adding to the two-state injunction the association secured from a Texas court as well as a preliminary injunction in Kentucky (91����Ƶ of Kentucky joined the Chamber of Commerce on that case), the 2023 WOTUS rule is now temporarily blocked in over half the country: 27 states in all.

91����Ƶ of America released the fourth video in its series of mental health videos recently for member firms to share with all employees. The video features Shayne Dinkle, a Seattle-area safety manager for iron workers, who lost a son to suicide. The pain and anger from that incident brought him close to taking his own life. But the support and compassion he received from his co-workers helped him overcome. The message from the video is clear, it is okay to share your pain, ask for help and offer it to co-workers who are suffering. The video is part of a broader 91����Ƶ effort to help overcome a construction industry mental health crisis that has resulted in the industry having a suicide rate that is four-times the national average. In addition to the video, 91����Ƶ has collected a host of resources for member firms and chapters to use as they address the industry’s mental health challenges. You can find those resources here.

The initiative leverages the U.S. Department of Labor’s expertise, programs, policies, partnerships, and authority to advance mental health and wellness in the workforce.