Administrative Law, Construction Law, Labor & Employment Law

OSHA Wins: Zone of Danger Creates Employer Liability

by Faith Alejandro | Sands Anderson PC on 4/30/2013

On a construction site, isn’t it enough to protect employees from existing hazards? And what does it matter if no one actually got hurt? The Sixth Circuit recently answered these questions: “No it’s not enough,” and...more

Are The Illinois Labor Department's Administrative Fines Unconstitutional?

by Kirk Jenkins | Sedgwick LLP on 2/1/2013

Yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court granted leave to appeal in four new civil cases. We begin our previews of these newest additions to the court’s docket with Bartlow v. Costigan, which raises a variety of constitutional...more

Patton Boggs Insights - December 2012: Agencies: Fatalities, Injuries Decline In 2011

by Patton Boggs LLP on 12/19/2012

A total of 4,609 workers died on the job nationwide in 2011 compared to 4,690 in 2010, according to preliminary data released recently by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The equivalent rates were 3.5 and 3.6 per 100,000...more

Don't Get Fried by Davis-Bacon

by Daniel A. Kaplan | Foley & Lardner LLP on 12/18/2012

Web sites abound advising employees they can make “millions” by blowing the whistle on their employers for alleged violations of laws, rules, or regulations. The federal law known as the False Claims Act (FCA) also contains...more

OSHA Update - "Construction" or "Maintenance" What OSHA Standards Apply?

by Patrick J. Miller, Matthew M. Morrison, Rodney L. Smith | Sherman & Howard L.L.C. on 12/12/2012

In most cases, deciding what OSHA standard applies to the work in question is straight forward. When it comes to deciding whether certain work is "construction," subject to OSHA's Construction Standards, or "maintenance,"...more

Misclassifying Employees Results In $101,000 In Back Wages Charged To Local Business

by Bean, Kinney & Korman, PC on 9/27/2012

Last week, the Department of Labor Wage Hour Division found that a Woodbridge, Virginia construction company misclassified employees as contractors and failed to pay overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act...more

Should Courts Use Varying Standards For Sexual Harassment Claims Based On Industry?

by Bean, Kinney & Korman, PC on 9/25/2012

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that it is not “the business of the federal courts generally to clean up the language and conduct of construction sites” and held that an employer who exhibited...more

DOL Settles Debarment Proceeding Against Contractor for Violations of Wage and Benefit Laws While Employee Class Action Remains...

by Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP on 9/18/2012

Contractors and Subcontractors Beware! Following a Department of Labor (DOL) investigation into payment practices on two federally funded construction projects in Manhattan: the Ciena Project on East 100th Street and the...more

The Davis-Bacon Corner

by Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. on 9/17/2012

It is well-established that general contractors are responsible for their subcontractors’ compliance with Davis-Bacon. Nevertheless, we frequently encounter situations where the general contractor has failed to comply with...more

Employment Law Newsletter - September 2012

by Bean, Kinney & Korman, PC on 9/17/2012

In This Issue: - Misclassifying Employees Results in $101,000 in Back Wages Charged to Local Business......................Page 1 - Should Courts Use Varying Standards for Sexual Harassment Claims Based on...more

Charter Cities Are Not Required to Pay Prevailing Wages on Local Public Works Projects

by Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 9/5/2012

Labor unions have long been at odds with California charter cities over whether such cities must pay prevailing wages on public works projects. While many charter cities have either not exempted themselves from state...more

Waiting Period Deleted From Bill Aimed At Predatory ADA Litigation Practices

by Robert Freedman - Partner at Tharpe & Howell,... on 9/1/2012

A requirement to wait 30 days before filing lawsuits for construction-related accessibility claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act has been deleted from the latest version of a bill (SB 1186) winding its way through...more

Criminal Prosecutor Appeals $200,000 fine in Metron Construction Quadruple Fatality Case

by Dentons on 8/27/2012

The Toronto Star is reporting that Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General has appealed a judge’s decision that imposed a $200,000 fine against Metron Construction in the 2009 scaffold collapse in which four workers...more

Sentencing of Contractor with Minor Role in Project: Deterrence is Key but Size Matters

by Dentons on 8/27/2012

This post follows a previous post of June 22, 2012, discussing the case of an independent contractor who had been working amongst a group of other parties on the demolition of a few buildings in downtown Nipawin, Saskatchewan...more

Employers Will Be Held Responsible for Their Subcontractors’ Payment of Prevailing Wages

by Foley & Lardner LLP on 8/3/2012

The Davis-Bacon Act is a federal law that requires contractors to pay their laborers and mechanics prevailing wages and fringe benefits for work performed on public works construction contracts funded by federal dollars. Each...more

eTrends - Additional States Join the Federal Department of Labor's Initiative to Detect Misclassification of Employees as...

by Susan Milner Parrott | Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell &... on 7/31/2012

California and Louisiana recently became the twelfth and thirteenth states, respectively, to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the federal Department of Labor ("DOL") as part of the DOL's effort to detect and...more

Huntsville business fined for failing to protect workers' safety

by Johnston, Moore & Thompson, Huntsville... on 7/24/2012

As long as workers are living up to the requirements of their jobs, generally, their employers should have their backs. Workers have certain rights that, if neglected, can mean more than an unpleasant work environment....more

$30,000 Personal Fine for Construction Supervisor who Violated Known Work Procedure

by Dentons on 7/23/2012

A construction supervisor was fined $30,000 after pleading guilty to charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The supervisor admitted to failing to ensure that workers wore fall protection and followed a...more

Legislative Update Report No. 2012-13 -- July 15, 2012

by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 7/18/2012

In This Article: Federal Government; Alberta; British Columbia; Manitoba; New Brunswick; Newfoundland; Northwest Territories; Nova Scotia; Nunavut; Ontario; Prince Edward Island; Québec/Quebec; Saskatchewan; and Yukon....more

UPDATE: Charter City Not Required To Pay Prevailing Wage On Municipal Construction Projects

by Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 7/18/2012

In a decision strongly upholding the municipal home rule doctrine, the California Supreme Court held that charter cities are not subject to state prevailing wage requirements for purely local construction projects. The Court...more

PA Contractors Must Use E-Verify To Check Employee Eligibility

by Ballard Spahr LLP on 7/17/2012

The recently signed Public Works Employment Verification Act requires contractors and subcontractors on public works projects in Pennsylvania to verify the employment eligibility of newly hired workers using the Department of...more

Pennsylvania Enacts Mandatory E-Verify for Public Contractors

by Morgan Lewis on 7/17/2012

Participation in federal employment eligibility program required for public works contractors and subcontractors as of January 1, 2013. Effective January 1, 2013, Pennsylvania will require certain public works...more

Pennsylvania Becomes The Latest State To Require E-Verify

by Fisher & Phillips LLP on 7/17/2012

Nearly all State Contractors and Sub-Contractors Affected The Public Works Employment Verification Act, signed into law on July 5, 2012, requires all contractors and subcontractors on public-works projects with the State...more

Ontario Announces Summer Safety Inspection Blitz Of Crane Safety And Surface Mines And Quarries

by Dentons on 7/16/2012

The Ontario Ministry of Labour recently announced a summer safety inspection blitz targeting construction sites with mobile and tower cranes, as well as surface mines and quarries, as part of its Safe at Work Ontario...more

California Supreme Court Rules That State’s Prevailing Wage Law Is Not Quite So Prevailing: Charter Cities Need Not Require...

by Littler on 7/13/2012

On July 2, 2012, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in State Building and Constructions Trades Councils of California, AFL – CIO v. City of Vista, No. S173586. The court held that locally funded...more

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Administrative Law › Construction Law › Labor & Employment Law