Sharing the Blame
One theory of construction contract law is that a construction contract is less about spelling out in detail each party’s specific rights and obligations...
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...
Confined Space Deaths Trigger GDC Litigation
A contractor recently succeeded, on appeal to the Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC), in getting a General Duty Clause citation issued in...
PELs Prosecution Raises Specter of Broader GDC Enforcement
For more than two decades, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been thwarted in its desire to update the Permissible Exposure Limits...
Congress Overturns OSHA Recordkeeping Rule
On March 1, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution of disapproval, under the Congressional Review Act, to block OSHA’s “Volks” rule....
Liquidated Damages Clauses
Where a contractor has been delayed by an owner (or by a third party for whom the owner is responsible), that contractor may be...
When All Goes Awry
Something goes wrong—perhaps the collapse of a structure during construction, the serious injury of an employee on the job, or an accident with a...
Revised Cost-of-Work Agreement
ConsensusDocs has revised its short form agreement popular for small and medium-size projects.
The ConsensusDocs Coalition was founded in 2007 under the leadership of 20...
Contingency Funds
For contractors, there are three things in life that are certain—death, taxes, and unwelcomed surprises on their jobs. Surprises are often bad for the...
OSHA and Hazard Assessments: Electrical Hazards in the Workplace
OSHA requires that employers “instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions” and the regulations applicable to the workplace “to control...