TRIA’s December Issues & Activities Update From Washington, D.C.

Tile Roofing Industry Alliance Lobbyist, Craig Brightup, has provided the latest government relations update and activities on the following:

Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations
The Fall Regulatory Agenda was released Dec. 7 and the U.S. Chamber summarized some labor-related regs:

1. DOL, OSHA: Heat Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings—agency analyzing SBREFA report.
2. DOL, OSHA: Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process—agency analyzing comments.
3. DOL, Wage & Hour Division: Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees (Overtime)—projected for April ‘24.
4. DOL, WHD: Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act—projected for Nov. ‘23 revealing how unreliable the Reg Agenda is.
5. NLRB: Election Protection Rule—projected for March ‘24.

OSHA Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard
On Dec. 22, the Employers Heat Illness Prevention/Protection Coalition in which NRCA and TRIA participate submitted the attached comments addressing the Report of the Small Business Advocacy Review Panel on OSHA’s Heat Standard.  Two roofing contactors were on the panel and important points in the comments include:

1. The standard should be flexible, performance oriented and centered on training.
2. Elements in the regulatory framework are technologically and/or economically infeasible.
3. Time and cost estimates are too low.
4. The standard should not cover indoor worksites.
5. The standard’s metric for heat exposure should be ambient not wet-bulb globe temperature.
6. The standard’s temperature threshold should be simple and account for local conditions.
7. The standard should not require employers to collect information about individual risk factors.
8. To the extent the standard includes requirements for rest/breaks, they should be flexible.
9. The standard should provide flexible acclimatization requirements/self-managed acclimatization.
10. The standard should provide flexibility regarding employee monitoring and limit supervisor responsibilities.

TRIA also participated in and cosigned similar comments prepared by the Construction Industry Safety Coalition.           


Project Labor Agreements
The Administration announced a rule on Dec. 18 requiring project labor agreements on federal construction projects estimated at $35 million or more.  Associated General Contractors will challenge the rule stating:  “The president’s new and unlawful mandate to impose government-mandated project labor agreements for the vast majority of federal construction projects is another example of this administration doing everything in its power to undermine its infrastructure goals, including helping workers.”

For more information on our Government Relations Committee or the Tile Roofing Industry Alliance (TRIA) please email us at [email protected] or visit our website at www.tileroofing.org