Ask an Attorney: Labor Update – <br>The Government is Not Your Friend
Although 2023 has just begun, governments at all levels, Local, State, and Federal, have made it clear that it will be a challenging year for merit shop contractors. We’ll discuss just a few of the specific challenges.
Ask an Attorney: Waivers of Consequential Damages – A Key Contract Clause
The indemnification clause is one of the most highly disputed provisions in every construction contract. The indemnification clause’s specific language can significantly impact a company’s risk exposure. Thus, it is critical for every contractor to understand the meaning of indemnification before executing a contract.
Ask an Attorney: Understanding Indemnity Clauses in Construction Contracts
The indemnification clause is one of the most highly disputed provisions in every construction contract. The indemnification clause’s specific language can significantly impact a company’s risk exposure. Thus, it is critical for every contractor to understand the meaning of indemnification before executing a contract.
Non-compete Agreements
Many industries use non-competition agreements, also known as non-compete agreements, as a means to protect company information from a departing employee. In fact, some of you reading this may be subject to one. A non-compete agreement is a contractual restriction on an employee’s ability to compete with a former employer. The benefits of a properly drafted non-compete agreement are obvious: to protect the company from a key employee taking sensitive company information to a competitor or using that information to start his or her own competing company. However, under Pennsylvania law, overly broad non-competes are often considered unenforceable, so they need to be narrowly tailored to protect the legitimate business interests of an employer.
Silence is Golden – The Workplace Injuries Construction Employers Do, and Do Not, Need to Record on OSHA Forms
The old adage “Sometimes less is more” may provide sound advice when it comes to completing Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations paperwork. Employers must keep track of workplace injuries and illnesses using a series of OHSA-supplied forms: the 300 Log to record each incident throughout the year, the 301 Report for each particular incident, and the 300A Summary of yearly statistics.
Ask an Attorney: HANDLING DEADLINES for Payment Claims on Construction Projects
Most construction companies are aware that they need to pursue a payment claim by a certain deadline. But the reality is more complex, as there are many different deadlines that apply, depending on the circumstances. Each instance requires careful consideration of various different statutes, types of claims, and contract clauses.
Ask an Accountant: What Construction Contractors Need to Know About the New Lease Accounting Standard for 2022
After granting a yearlong delay due to COVID-19, non-public companies must adopt the new lease accounting guidelines that greatly expands the financial reporting requirements for leases.
Ask an Attorney: The Construction Industry Economic Forecast & Contractor Agreements: How Economics & Law Fit Hand-to-Glove
Earlier this year, economic forecasters throughout the construction industry weighed in with their assessment, analysis, and even projections for 2022. In February, ABC Keystone hosted Anirban Basu, ABC National’s Chief Economist, and possible secret agent, to give his industry outlook at the annual Economic Breakfast. His presentation not only reviewed and interpreted key metrics, but it also had implications for day-to-day business activities. As economics and law go hand-in-hand, the emerging economic landscape drives how contractors should negotiate their contracts and the types of terms they should include.
Ask an Attorney: Rough Waters Ahead for Employers – With or Without the PRO Act
If you are reading this article, which indicates you have some interest in labor law, then you are probably relatively up-to-date on legislative developments in Washington D.C. regarding the bill known as the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Since its fate on a straight up and down vote in Congress was uncertain, President Biden and his Democrat allies put many of the PRO Act provisions in the Build Back Better Act. As of this writing, it does not appear that Build Back Better will win Congressional approval in its present form (thanks to Senators Manchin and Sinema!) Unfortunately, this does not mean that merit shop employers don’t have to worry about dramatic changes in labor law that will be designed to make it easier for unions to organize and harder (and potentially far more costly) for employers to oppose any such efforts.
Ask an Attorney: Can I Use a Price Escalation Clause In My Construction Contract?
With the impact of COVID-19 wreaking havoc in the supply and demand chain, construction materials have skyrocketed in price, and in some cases, have caused painfully long lead-times for materials. Contractors skilled and experienced in quoting a fixed fee or a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) are leery giving such quotes without some cushion to absorb the risk in these steep price increases. As a result, many contractors have been scrambling to put price escalation clauses in their standard construction contracts. These price escalation clauses give the contractors the cushion they need to move forward with a project.
Ask an Attorney: Leaving Disputeville
“The best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry.” – Robert Burns
The above quoted line from Robert Burns’ poem “To A Mouse” is often quoted. A translation of this famous passage for modern day contractors would be: no matter how carefully and thoroughly a project is planned, something may still go wrong. Even in the best planned projects, often unanticipated things go wrong before a project can be completed. Suddenly, the unpredictable occurs. One day your project manager calls you and says that while excavating the site, a fully intact Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton is uncovered. Or, a pandemic sweeps across the globe forcing your workforce to quarantine and placing the entire project on hold. Undoubtedly, these occurrences, which could not have been predicted, impact a contractor’s bottom line, potentially converting an otherwise profitable project into potential financial disaster. “But surely the owner will agree to pay my company additional compensation for this,” you may say to yourself. But, when you submit your claim notice and/or change order request, the owner says, “Oh, no, no, no.”
Ask an Attorney: Material Supply Issues During the Pandemic and Beyond
When traumatic, disruptive things happen, like the current COVID-19 pandemic, they create many obvious and foreseeable impacts; but they also create many not-so-obvious or foreseeable impacts. When these events occur, they not only cause financial issues but also a host of related legal issues.
