Category: Legal

March 14, 2023

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women, Black and Asian workers are underrepresented in construction, while White workers make up a significantly higher portion of employees compared to the broader workforce. In May 2022, EEOC held a hearing to […]

February 27, 2023

With the comment period just ended for a U.S. government proposal to require climate-change impact reporting for federal contractors, responses were predictably polar from business trade groups and environmental advocates—but a few were unexpected. The rule was proposed last November […]

February 10, 2023

The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division enforces the FLSA. The law sets standards for minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and youth employment. However, many states also have minimum wage laws, and employers must pay workers according to which standard is higher. […]

February 8, 2023

A New Jersey contractor and its principal recently pleaded guilty to federal charges of willfully violating OSHA regulations over the 2017 death of a worker at a Poughkeepsie, N.Y. construction site. Prosecutors say the company’s operations manager ignored an engineer’s […]

February 7, 2023

A former employee for a Massachusetts contractor leading the largest design-build project in the Rhode Island Dept. of Transportation’s history pleaded not guilty in Providence County Superior Court on Feb. 7 to illegally dumping toxic fill at the Providence-area jobsite. […]

February 7, 2023

The suit, filed in New York Supreme Court for Albany County, alleges that Rosenblum’s and AJS Masonry’s conduct was “so extreme and outrageous as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.” Filed […]

February 7, 2023

The bank would help finance work such as transportation projects, ports, electric grid security and broadband connectivity, according to the release. The bill also allows for broad discretion by the bank to invest in any infrastructure projects that it identifies […]

February 7, 2023

A Chicago-based contractor has been handed a $400,000 penalty for alleged violations of federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting regulations known as the RRP rule. The penalty is part of a settlement announced Jan. 30 between the U.S. Environmental Protection […]

January 31, 2023

New Jersey enacts legislation that offers a financial performance bonus for concrete producers who provide low embodied-carbon products for state projeNew Jersey’s new financial performance bonus for concrete producers that provide low embodied-carbon products for state projects is believed to […]

January 26, 2023

The owner of a Vail, Colorado construction company facing felony manslaughter charges has surrendered to local law enforcement after the Summit County Sheriff’s Office in Breckenridge, Colorado, issued an arrest warrant on Jan. 24, 2023, related to the findings of […]

January 24, 2023

The average annual employee turnover rate for the construction industry is 68%, according to data issued by job search site Zippia, more than 10 percentage points higher than the national average of 57.3%. Why does that matter? With new employees […]

January 23, 2023

The move provides local governments with several avenues to speed up the construction permitting process, according to the release. For instance, the law also includes a more streamlined bidding process to contract with private inspection agencies or enter into shared […]

January 20, 2023

Ensuring your company’s safety program is set up to protect you when facing a potential OSHA fine is a challenging needle to thread. That was the message from a group of panelists highlighting “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” […]

January 19, 2023

Often earning low wages and experiencing discrimination, all while facing the ever-present threat of deportation, undocumented workers in the U.S. don’t get many wins, said Luz Castro, deputy director of national policy for Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los […]

January 18, 2023

Less than four months after citing a Trenton, New Jersey roofing contractor for exposing unprotected workers to deadly fall hazards, OSHA is once again holding the employer responsible for putting its workers’ safety at risk. As part of its Local […]

January 13, 2023

A Pennsylvania county government is suing the contractors that designed and built its jail more than 40 years ago, alleging work was never completed because a bond beam shown on plans was never placed. Officials say the construction oversight hastened […]

January 5, 2023

The law requires contractors and subs that want to win public projects to register with the Department of Labor and provide a series of disclosures about their business every two years. The goal is to ensure previous labor law and […]

December 15, 2022

The jury ultimately awarded Hrychorczuk the following payments, which were announced on Dec. 7: $15 million for pain and suffering. $1.5 million for past medical expenses. $212,000 for past lost earnings. $20 million over 21.5 years for pain and suffering. […]

December 7, 2022

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has started to provide significant funding for new and rehab infrastructure projects. A provision in the IIJA is the Build America, Buy America Act, which impacts all federally funded infrastructure projects in the United […]

November 15, 2022

The owners of four solar farms agreed to settle allegations of federal Clean Water Act violations tied to construction permits and stormwater management on projects totaling more than 500 MW in Alabama, Idaho and Illinois, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency […]