Posts tagged President Trump

    Research

    Plan Sponsors Get Go-Ahead on Alternatives as DOL Shifts Stance

    August 22, 2025 // For plan sponsors, this regulatory shift provides much-needed clarity and removes a significant deterrent that had been hanging over alternative investment discussions. The DOL has essentially returned to a neutral, principles-based approach that allows fiduciaries to evaluate all investment options based on their merits rather than facing special scrutiny for considering alternatives.

    401(k) Biden administration Biden era DOL Elizabeth Warren Employee Benefits Security Administration ERISA Executive Order fiduciary duty investments Lori Chavez-DeRemer President Trump regulatory guidance retirees Securities and Exchange Commission Senate Banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Transparency

    Research

    Bid Protests Offer a Way Around PLAs, But Will a Slow, Steady Precedent Win the Day?

    June 25, 2025 // The OMB memo instructs federal agencies to maintain the labor pact requirements but also points to a Federal Acquisition Rule provision that provides an exception to the PLA requirement for large construction projects when its use would substantially reduce the number of bidders and impact the price. But it has left neither contractor groups nor NABTU happy. "To that extent this isn’t what we hoped for, it is definitely better than what was in place with the Biden administration,” Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs and workforce at AGC told ENR. “In addition, given the recent court decisions, it is hard to see how the administration will be able to impose a mandated PLA without facing successful bid protests."

    AFSCME Army Corps of Engineers benefits bid protest Biden era building trades Bureau of Labor Statistics competition construction Deptartment of Defense federally funded construction projects First Amendment free speech General Services Administration government projects hiring halls Illinois innovation Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer Mark Janus NABTU National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation non-right-to-work states non-union North America’s Building Trades Unions OMB organized labor PLA political activity President Trump Project Labor Agreements rank and file Russell Vought skilled employees skilled employees. Unions union dues unions wages Washington D.C.