UPDATES REGARDING THE END OF COVID HEALTH EMERGENCIES

The federal government announced in January that both national emergencies addressing COVID-19 will end on May 11^th, 2023.

Effective May 12^th, 2023, when most medical and pharmacy plans will no longer be subject to federal coverage requirements for COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, and treatment coverage, The Contractors Plan will remain unaffected until a first renewal following May 11^th, 2023. At that point, COVID-19 medical and pharmacy claims will be treated as any other illness.

For questions regarding the end of COVID health emergencies please contact your Contractors Plan Account Manager.

WHD Publishes Opinion Letter Clarifying How Holidays Count Against an Employee’s FMLA Leave

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) published the opinion letter FMLA2023-2-A, “Whether Holidays Count Against an Employee’s FMLA Leave Entitlement and Determination of the Amount of Leave Taken.” The letter responds to a request for clarification concerning calculating the amount of leave used when an employee takes leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) during a week with a holiday.

In this letter, WHD explains that, under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the employee’s standard workweek is the basis of the employee’s leave entitlement. Therefore, if a holiday occurs during an employee’s workweek, and the employee works for part of the week and uses FMLA leave for part of the week, the holiday does not reduce the amount of the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement unless the employee was required to report for work on the holiday.

In sum, if the employee was not expected or scheduled to work on the holiday, the fraction of the workweek of leave used would be the amount of FMLA leave taken (which would not include the holiday) divided by the total workweek (which would consist of the holiday).

This is a link to the opinion letter; https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/opinion-letters/FMLA/2023_05_30_02_FMLA.pdf

Read The Spring – 2023 Edition Of The Contractors Plan Retirement Newsletter!

The purpose of this quarterly newsletter is to provide a deep dive into retirement topics to help you better prepare for upcoming and important events. We will also cover happenings in the retirement industry that may potentially impact your plan.

Click here to read The Contractors Plan Retirement Newsletter.

What You Need to Know About Secure Act 2.0

The SECURE Act 2.0 can be difficult to navigate. The Contractors Plan has created a PDF with some of the key provisions for your convenience. We are continuing to learn about the impacts and administration of the many provisions of the SECURE Act and will provide updates to the chart as we move forward. Feel free to download and save the current chart document for personal use.

Click Here To View And Download The SECURE Act 2.0 Chart

February 2023 Construction Spending

The U.S. Census Bureau announced construction spending for February 2023 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,844 billion, 0.1% below the revised estimate of $1,845 billion in January. Compared to the same period last year, construction spending was up 5.2 %. For the first two months of the year, spending amounted to $260.8 billion, up 5.9% above that same period in 2022.

While private construction spending in February was $1,453 billion, nearly unchanged from the revised January estimate of $1,453 billion, public construction spending was $391 billion, just 0.2% below the revised January estimate of $391.8 billion. However, compared to last year’s period, public construction spending is up 12.8% from February 2022. As a leading contributor, highway construction was strong in February at $120.6 billion, 0.3% above the previous month, and up 18.8% from last year.

More information may be found at: https://www.census.gov/construction/c30/pdf/release.pdf 

FY24 Budgets Prioritizes Support for Major Infrastructure & Construction Efforts

The President’s Proposed FY24 budget calls for significant funding of infrastructure and construction efforts. The most substantial investments are within the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Defense (DOD), as well as within Veteran Affairs (VA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The DOT budget provides $76.1 billion for highway safety and transit formula programs. This includes funds for the Federal-Aid Highway program and upgrading the nation’s highways and bridges. DOT continues to focus on strengthening the nation’s transportation system, tackling large infrastructure projects, and expanding the nation’s capacity to move goods quickly. In addition, DOT is concentrating on improvements to the safety and efficiency of the rail network through the expansion of the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program.

Building on prior investments, the DOD FY 2024 budget includes $19.2 billion for facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization and $16.7 billion in construction and family housing programs and improving critical operational infrastructure. Specific projects include improvements to the facilities that support readiness programs, family housing, construction of quality-of-life and medical facilities, and projects advancing deterrence initiative programs.

The budget also highlights the support of a $5 billion investment to improve critical veteran medical facilities and the construction of state-extended care facilities to deliver high-quality healthcare, benefits, and services for veterans. Additionally, the budget provides $2.4 billion for research infrastructure at NSF to support the construction and procurement of research facilities.

DOL’s FY 2024 Budget Prioritizes Expanding and Protecting Workers’ Rights

The Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) FY2024 budget requests $15.1 billion, up 3.4% from FY2023, to expand employment pathways and protect workers’ health and safety, wages, and retirement.

Of the funds, DOL has requested, $11.5 billion would go toward the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), an increase of 9.4% from FY 2023. The ETA administers Federal workforce development and worker dislocation programs, Federal grants to states for public employment service programs, and Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. Funding supports initiatives that aim to expand and create good jobs and protections for American workers; these include:

• Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and Employment Service State Grants
• Expanding the Registered Apprenticeship (RA) opportunities
• Launching the “Sectoral Employment through Career Training for Occupational Readiness” program and
• Improving access and equity in the unemployment insurance system

Additionally, DOL’s budget calls for $2.3 billion, also up from previous years, to strengthen worker protection agencies. One of those agencies is the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), which enforces labor standards. The increased funding will allow WHD to enforce prevailing wage, minimum wage, and family leave requirements. Funding also increased for the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP), enabling them to enforce anti-discrimination laws and ensure Federal contracting.

The DOL budget can be found at https://www.dol.gov/general/budget

President Details FY 2024 Budget Proposal

President Biden has announced his $6.9 trillion budget proposal for 2024, which lays out his policy priorities for the next fiscal year. Biden’s budget addresses many of the items he laid out in his most recent State of the Union address.

The budget details the Administration’s plans to lower costs and cut taxes for working families; expand access to childcare, education, housing, and healthcare; and protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security.

Overall, the discretionary portion of the budget promotes non-defense programs. Specifically, the budget seeks $688 billion in non-defense programs, up 7.3% from the current year, and calls for a lesser increase for military and national security, requesting $842 billion for Defense programs, up about 3%. The rest of the spending is for mandatory programs.

Another important aspect of the proposed budget is lowering the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade by raising trillions of dollars in taxes on corporations and the wealthy, including by instituting a 25% minimum tax on the top 0.01% of the most affluent Americans.

Biden’s proposed budget faces strong opposition and is unlikely to be adopted as is with narrow majorities in both the House and Senate. However, President Biden will need to work with lawmakers to establish some budget agreements before the summer deadline for raising or suspending the nation’s borrowing limit to avoid a potential default.

President Biden Nominates Julie Su for Labor Secretary

President Biden has nominated Julie Su to serve as the Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL). Since 2021, Su has served as the Deputy Secretary of Labor and has been called a “champion for workers” and is expected to advance Biden’s vision of a resilient and inclusive economy with worker well-being at its core. If confirmed, Su will become the first Asian American to join Biden’s cabinet at the rank of Secretary.

Before joining the DOL, Deputy Secretary Su served as the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Secretary. There she worked closely with unions and employers to build partnerships to connect people to union jobs.

The Senate must confirm Su, where she has the backing of the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus and the Congressional black caucus. However, her confirmation could still be contentious as she is facing opposition from republicans who are citing her role in crafting state law AB5 that classifies some contract workers as employees. Critics say AB5 severely restricts businesses’ ability to hire freelancers.

OSHA Seeks Public Comments on Modernizing Program that Recognizes Employers Committed to Best Safety, Health Practices

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced that it invites the public and workplace safety stakeholders to share their comments regarding the best way to encourage employers and honor those who commit to workplace safety and health.

By opening the program to public comments, OSHA seeks input from all viewpoints to assist the agency as it modernizes and enhances its Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) and continues to promote the use of workplace safety and health management systems.

Through a series of questions to elicit practical responses, OSHA is seeking input regarding such issues as:

• Aligning the VPP more closely with current occupational practices and standards.
• Finding resources and tools that could expand the VPP’s capacity.
• Identifying any categories of hazards that may need special attention in the VPP certification process.

The deadline for comments is April 14, 2023. Those interested should submit comments and attachments, identified by Docket No. OSHA-2022-0012, using the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.