Trump: Concrete friend, regulation foe

Private sector employers, employees and job seekers will soon have a friend in the White House. Before looking at the new administration’s promise, a brief look back to November 2001, when this column noted Donald Trump’s appreciation for quality construction. The then-celebrity developer had assessed post-Twin Towers building practice in a prime time exchange with ABC 20/20 host Barbara Walters, citing “more concrete,” as a means of constructing “a great building a lot tougher than the World Trade Center turned out to be.”

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Justice, Labor Departments expand environmental, worker safety oversight

Under a new plan aimed at preventing and deterring crimes that jeopardize the health and lives of workers, the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will work with the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration, and Wage and Hour Division to investigate and prosecute endangerment violations.

 
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Agencies issue proposed rule, guidance on contractor ‘Blacklisting’ EO

The federal agencies charged with implementing President Obama’s July 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order have released their much-anticipated proposed rule on this directive. The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a 106-page proposed guidance document, and the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), issued a 131-page proposed rule, governing the terms of the so-called “Blacklisting” Executive Order (EO).

 
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Vulcan Board welcomes former Labor Secretary, Transportation Deputy Secretary

Sources: Vulcan Materials Co., Birmingham, Ala.; CP staff

Elaine Chao, who headed the Department of Labor through President George W. Bush’s two terms (2001–2009), and Southern Co. chief Thomas Fanning have been elected Vulcan Materials directors for an interim period; both will be among 2015 director nominees for election at the Vulcan 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May.

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