As a result of the novel coronavirus’ spread, construction industry players are preparing for permanent changes to the way they do business. Other changes that contractors likely will encounter moving forward through and after the pandemic, however, will be in their contracts, both between the owner and general contractor and between the general contractor and subcontractor.
There are a number of possible scenarios. Owners will probably look for more flexibility to accommodate pandemic-related disruptions, attorney Richard Reizen with Gould & Ratner LLP in Chicago told Construction Dive earlier this year. Contractors might be asked to work under certain types of contracts, like cost-plus, and could see contract terms that allocate costs differently should the pandemic or a future crisis shut a project down. And they could require beefed-up safety and security measures.
