This week, NECA signed on to a letter to the House and Senate in opposition to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposal. This proposal would require financial institutions to report all deposits, withdrawals, and transfers between accounts in all business and personal accounts to the IRS. As stated in the letter, NECA supports tax compliance, but this proposal could lead to a number of issues for our small businesses. Read the full Treasury proposal here.     

NECA’s Look Ahead: Though this is just a proposal and not legislative action, NECA has been monitoring any efforts to adjust tax policies under the Biden Administration. We will continue to advocate for small businesses and speak out against proposals that could create an unnecessary burden on NECA contractors.  

Last week, the Biden Administration signed a new Executive Order to strengthen the current “Buy America” and “Buy American” rules. The Executive Order includes measures to strengthen American supply chains for products that are deemed “critical,” to mitigate some of the weaker areas in our domestic supply chains highlighted by the recent pandemic. The order also includes a plan to raise the product usage threshold of domestically bought and sourced materials paid for by American tax dollars.   

NECA’s Look Ahead: Protecting American supply chains has the potential to benefit NECA contractors. We will continue to monitor this Administration objective and how these changes might impact our contractors. 

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act. This rule rescinds a previous March 2020 rule, “Joint Employer Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” with the aim of ensuring workers receive minimum wage and overtime protections. The final rule will go into effect September 28, 2021. 

NECA’s Look Ahead: This final rule adjusts and better defines what a “joint employer” is and no longer contradicts other DOL joint employment guidance. NECA will be monitoring any additional guidance released by the DOL on this subject.