OSHA & MSHA Penalties Significantly Raised
On July 1, 2016, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an interim final rule raising civil penalties by nearly 80 percent in some...
Minimizing OSHA Liability : More Than an Ounce of Prevention
OSHA penalties can be costly. In fact, a single “repeat” or “willful” violation can result in a penalty of $126,749. And, if you have...
Labor and Employment Update
Employee Verification and the Newly Released I-9 Form
Labor and employment laws regularly intersect with the construction industry—whether you are dealing with employment issues such...
OSHA Proposes New Safety & Health Management Guidelines
OSHA has published new proposed guidelines for establishment of workplace occupational safety and health management programs (SHMP), with public comment accepted until February 22,...
Where-Oh-Where?
Validity of Forum Selection Clause in Construction Contract Goes to Supreme Court.
Sophisticated parties to a construction contract will often negotiate the manner, location, forum,...
Investing in America
For more than a decade, I’ve covered the lack of skilled workers in the trades impacting productivity, profits, and projects across the nation. I’ve...
Negotiating Change Provisions, Change Orders, and Change Directives
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once wrote that nothing endures but change. That adage certainly holds true in the construction industry. Nearly every construction project...
Watch Your Language
Avoiding the High Costs of Delays
Schedule delays, and their concomitant costs, are an unfortunate reality for many construction projects. For the project owner or...
Cost Escalation Clauses
By Luke J. Farley and Dixie T. Wells
The construction industry has been left scrambling due to materials shortages and volatile pricing brought on by...
Protection Liability
Vetting commercial general liability protection against construction defect claims
There is nothing new about general contractors including terms in their subcontracts that require subcontractors to...









