A portion of my construction practice involves employment issues.  You can imagine the types of employment-related questions that arise on the project site:

  • Hiring, firing and layoffs
  • Harassment and discrimination
  • Wage payment and commission claims
  • Employee policies, including computer use and social media
  • On-the-job injuries and fatalities
  • State and Federal OSHA requirements
  • Prevailing wage laws,

Yesterday, highway and bridge contractors in Tennessee received an alert from from TDOT officials about the affect of heavy rain in the area: "I’m sure most are aware of the anticipated rise in the Mississippi River, but could you please share with all that are working in the Mississippi River area and the backwater areas

This must be the week for transportation.  Yesterday, I received an update from the Tennessee Road Builder’s Association about the acquisition of right of ways on Federal funded projects.  According to a memo from TDOT’s Chief Engineer Paul Degges, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will be enforcing its policy that all property must be

Whenever a 100-page legislative or legal report is released by an agency, association or group of individuals, the best place to go in the document is the Summary or Findings sections.  So, yesterdary, when the USGBC, AIA, SMACNA and other groups issued its 93-pager entitled Using Executive Authority to Achieve Greener Buildings: A Guide for Policymakers

The Obama administration is scheduled to issue a final rule today that allows federal agencies to require public contractors to use public labor agreements (PLA) on large public construction projects. PLAs are collective bargaining agreements that establish the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project.  They have been used on private jobs, as well as state

I am in San Francisco this week for the MidWinter Conference of the American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry.  The topic this year is "Government Construction Contracting" and I will be tweeting under the hashtag #ABAConstruct.

Federal Contracting in San Francisco

In news relevant to Federal contractors, construction industry players and Californians, the San Francisco Business Times reported