Thursday, February 13, 2025
Do Voters Want OSHA to Go Away? Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., last month proposed the Nullify Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act, which would abolish the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 that created OSHA. Biggs introduced similar legislation in 2021, which stalled out after it was referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. “OSHA’s existence is yet another example of the federal government creating agencies to address issues that are more appropriately handled by state governments and private employers,” Biggs said in a statement in 2021. Perhaps someone should remind Biggs that only 22 states (including Arizona) have OSHA-approved state plans. I guess workers in those 28 other States are SOL. Story
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Trump's Labor Secretary Pick Is a Union Favorite—And a Threat to Right-to-Work Laws Given the salacious allegations against some of President Donald Trump's cabinet nominations, it is understandable how Secretary of Labor nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer has mostly flown under the radar. But from a policy perspective, Chavez-DeRemer's voting record is concerning—especially for those who value federalism and coercion-free workplaces. For most of her political career, Chavez-DeRemer, who lost her Oregon congressional seat in November, has been a polarizing figure. The daughter of a Teamster, her soft spot for unions puts her at odds with her Republican colleagues and right-of-center groups. In a letter to the Senate, National Right to Work Committee president Mark Mix wrote that Chavez-DeRemer's judgment is "clearly compromised" and that she "must be rejected as the Secretary of Labor."
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DOD Halts Plans on Construction Projects The Department of Defense has ordered its contracting officers to halt the use of project labor agreements on “large-scale construction projects,” according to a memo published by Construction Dive. The notice, dated Feb. 7, says contracting officers shall remove PLA requirements created by former President Joe Biden that apply to projects receiving $35 million or more in federal funds. As part of the memo—signed by John M. Tenaglia, principal director of defense pricing, contracting and acquisition policy for the DOD—contracting officers were ordered to amend solicitations for federal contracts to remove PLA requirements.
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California’s First-in-Nation COVID-19 Regulation Finally Rides Off Into the Sunset (Mostly…) Nearly all the substantive provisions of Cal/OSHA’s non-emergency COVID-19 regulation expired on Monday, February 3, 2025. The event marked a significant end point to the regulatory journey that began on November 19, 2020, when California became the first jurisdiction to enact general workplace regulations specifically addressing COVID-19. California’s detailed COVID-19 requirements remained in effect much longer than those of any other jurisdiction, most of which already expired more than a year ago. Despite the expiration of nearly all the COVID-19 non-emergency regulations, employers should remain attentive to their ongoing workplace safety duties. More
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Legislation
AB 76 Alvarez (D) Current law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency. Current law defines terms for these purposes. Current law defines “exempt surplus land” to mean, among other things, land that is subject to a sectional planning area, as described, and meets specified requirements, including that at least 25% of the units are dedicated to lower income households, as specified, and that is developed at an average density of at least 10 units per acre, calculated with respect to the entire sectional planning area. This bill would change those requirements so that at least 25% of units that are not designated for students, faculty, or staff of an academic institution must be dedicated to lower income households, as specified, and that the land must be developed at an average density of at least 10 units per acre, calculated with respect to the entire sectional planning area and inclusive of housing designated for students, faculty, and staff of an academic institution. WECA Position: SIA (Support if Amended)
AB 231 Ta (R) Would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, allow a credit against the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law taxes to a qualified taxpayer in an amount equal to 40% of the qualified wages paid or incurred to a qualified employee employed during the taxable year. The bill would define a qualified employee for this purpose to mean an individual that, among other things, has been convicted of a felony, as provided, and has a hiring date not more than one year after the date the individual was convicted or was released from prison. WECA Position: Support
AB 296 Davies (R) Current law provides for the establishment of apprenticeship programs in various trades, to be approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations in any trade in the state or in a city or trade area whenever the apprentice training needs justify the establishment. Current law requires a school district or school to notify each apprenticeship program in the same county as the school district or school of a career or college fair it is planning to hold, as specified. Current law provides that the Legislature encourages school districts and schools to host apprenticeship fair events, as provided. This bill would delete the above-specified provision regarding the Legislature’s encouragement to school districts and schools and would, instead, require school districts and schools to host at least one apprenticeship fair event during each school year, as specified. WECA Position: Support
AB 303 Addis (D) Current law, until June 30, 2029, authorizes a person proposing an eligible facility, including an energy storage system capable of storing 200 megawatthours or more of energy, to submit an application for certification with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission of the site and related facility. Current law specifies that the issuance by the commission of the certificate is in lieu of any permit, certificate, or similar document required by any state, local, or regional agency, or federal agency to the extent permitted by federal law, except as provided. Existing law establishes the procedures by which the commission is to review the application. This bill would specify that energy storage systems do not include battery energy storage systems for the above-described purposes. WECA Position: Oppose
AB 305 Arambula (D) Current law prohibits the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission from certifying a nuclear fission thermal powerplant, except for specified powerplants, and provides that a nuclear fission thermal powerplant, except those specified powerplants, is not a permitted land use in California unless certain conditions are met regarding the existence of technology for the construction and operation of nuclear fuel rod processing plants and of demonstrated technology or means for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste, as specified. This bill would exempt small modular reactors, as defined, from those provisions. WECA Position: Support
AB 345 Jackson (D) Current law provides for apprenticeship programs within the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations, sponsored by specific entities and employers, and requires the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to perform various functions with respect to apprenticeship programs and the welfare of apprentices, including the approval of new apprenticeship programs. Current law makes any person who willfully discriminates in any recruitment or apprenticeship program, as specified, guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would require the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to confirm the completeness of an application for a new apprenticeship program within 30 days of receiving the application. The bill would provide that, where the chief has not made a final determination on a completed application for a new program within 6 months of receiving the application, the program shall have conditional approval to operate if it satisfies specified conditions, including approval by the United States Department of Labor. The bill would require the chief to make a final determination on an application for a new apprenticeship program within one year of receiving a completed application. The bill would provide its provisions do not apply to apprenticeship programs in the building and construction trades or to firefighter programs. WECA Position: SIA
ACR 28 Ortega (D) Would proclaim the week of March 2, 2025, to March 8, 2025, inclusive, as Women in Construction Week. WECA Position: Support
SB 61 Cortese (D) Current law generally governs retention payments withheld with respect to a contract for a private work of improvement, including by requiring an owner that withholds a retention from a direct contractor to, within 45 days after completion of the work of improvement, pay the retention to the contractor. This bill would limit the amount of a retention payment with respect to a contract for a private work of improvement by, among other things, prohibiting a retention payment withheld from a payment by an owner from the direct contractor, by the direct contractor from any subcontractor, and by a subcontractor from any subcontractor thereunder, for a private work of improvement, from exceeding 5% of the payment. WECA Position: Support
SB 75 Smallwood-Cuevas (D) Current law establishes the Pre-Release Construction Trades Certificate Program within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to increase employment opportunities in the construction trades for incarcerated persons upon release. Current law requires the department to establish a joint advisory committee, composed of representatives from specified organizations and state agencies, for the purpose of implementation of the program and specifies the duties of the committee with respect to the program. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to postrelease apprenticeship programs. WECA Position: Support
SB 84 Niello (R) Would prohibit a construction-related accessibility claim for statutory damages from being initiated in a legal proceeding against a defendant who employs 50 or fewer individuals, as specified, unless the defendant has been served with a letter specifying each alleged violation, and the alleged violations have not been corrected within 120 days of service of the letter. The bill would provide that a defendant is not liable for statutory damages, plaintiff’s attorney’s fees, or costs for an alleged violation that is corrected within 120 days of service of a letter alleging the violation. The bill would also prohibit a plaintiff from avoiding the notice and opportunity to correct provisions and the liability limitations by claiming they are seeking general discrimination damages based on a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 if the underlying claim is based on a defendant’s failure to comply with physical accessibility standards under California law. WECA Position: Support
SB 272 Becker (D) The Local Agency Public Construction Act sets forth procedures that a local agency is required to follow when procuring certain services or work. The act also sets forth specific public contracting requirements for certain transit districts, including the San Mateo County Transit District, for construction work contracts. The act authorizes certain local agencies, including school districts and community college districts, to engage in job order contracting, as prescribed. This bill would establish a pilot program to authorize the San Mateo County Transit District to use job order contracting as a procurement method. The bill would impose a $5,000,000 cap on awards under a single job order contract and a $1,000,000 cap on any single job order. The bill would limit the term of an initial contract to a maximum of 12 months, with extensions as prescribed. The bill would establish various procedures and requirements for the use of job order contracting under the pilot program. WECA Position: SIA
SB 291 Grayson (D) Current law generally requires, as a condition precedent to the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, or continued maintenance of a contractor license, a licensed contractor or applicant for licensure to have on file at all times with the Contractors State License Board a current and valid Certificate of Workers’ Compensation Insurance or Certification of Self-Insurance in the applicant’s or licensee’s business name, as specified. Current law generally makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. Current law exempts from this requirement an applicant or licensee who has no employees, provided that they file a statement with the board before the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, or continued maintenance of a license certifying that they do not employ any person, as specified, and who does not hold a specified license issued by the board, including a C-8 license, as defined. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2028. This bill would instead repeal the above-described provisions on January 1, 2027. WECA Position: Oppose
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