Criminal Law › Construction Law

Employee Wrongfully Terminated for Refusing to Engage in Criminal Copyright Infringement

Adam Young worked for an architecture firm, Nortex Foundation Designs Inc. in Fort Worth Texas as a drafter. He was hired in 2001 and designed foundation plans based on copyrighted architectural designs that Nortex provided...more

Money Chases Marijuana

Cannabis-Ancillary Investments Outlier Investments, Inc., with Private Placement Advisors, LLC, drafts private placement offering documents and assist start-ups with investor presentations; it also advises investors and...more

Escalating Penalties: Alberta OHS Convictions For 2012 – What Can Employers Expect For The Year Ahead?

A person who contravenes Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, Regulations or Code is liable, for a first offence, to a fine of not more than $500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months and, for a...more

Proposed Update To Arlington County’s Noise Control Ordinance

The Arlington County Board is planning to hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed changes to the Noise Control Ordinance. According to the Arlington County website, the meeting is expected to take place sometime in the...more

D.LGS. 231/2001 - Aggiornamento Normativo E Giurisprudenziale

Si riporta di seguito una breve rassegna dei provvedimenti maggiormente significativi in materia di responsabilità amministrativa degli enti ex D.Lsg. 231/2001. SEQUESTRO PREVENTIVO - CASSAZIONE PENALE – Sent. n....more

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

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

Architects & Engineers – Are you committing a Class 2 misdemeanor without realizing it? (Tue Tip; law note)

Buried within the general contractor provisions of the North Carolina General Statutes is a little-known provision that can get architects and engineers in hot water. If you recommend to a project owner anyone who is not...more

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

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

First Ontario Company Convicted of Criminal Safety Charges: Christmas Eve Scaffold Collapse

On Christmas Eve, 2009, four workers died and a fifth was seriously injured when the scaffold they were standing on to effect repairs to the exterior of an apartment building in Etobicoke, Ontario collapsed and fell thirteen...more

Criminal Background Checks

In an increasingly competitive business environment, it is perhaps more important than ever for employers to exercise prudence and caution in hiring and maintaining their workforce. Background checks, whether criminal...more

Doing asbestos we can

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 come into force in one month. What are the changes?...more

Construction OberView: "Objection, Privilege": Protecting the Attorney-Client Relationship amidst the Shifting Sands of False...

“Men must turn square corners when they deal with the Government.” – Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. With the Government’s prosecution of False Claims Act (“FCA”) and Contract Disputes Act (“CDA”) violations on the...more

In Appeal of Construction Fraud Case, DOJ Seeks Tougher Sentences

In a very rare case in which the government argued that it viewed criminal sentences as too lenient, the U.S. Department of Justice contended in an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit on Nov. 7, 2011, that...more

Construction Alert: Protecting Your Company From The Federal Crackdown On Form I-9s

The numbers are staggering. As of Sept. 17, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) instituted 3,015 administrative and criminal investigations and issued 2,393 Notices of Inspection for Form I-9 compliance in 2011....more

Are You Ready For The Fair Play Act?

On October 26, 2010, the New York State Construction Industry Fair Play Act went into effect. This new statute is likely to have an enormous impact on the construction industry by imposing stringent requirements for any...more

Middle East Newsletter - Issue 3, February 2011

Welcome to our Newsletter Good morning and welcome to the third edition of our revitalised Middle East Newsletter. Please take the time to scan, or better still, dip in and out of it. The intention is that all readers...more

Environmental crime – Asbestos and the Clean Air Act By Chris Paul

A federal jury found an asbestos removal contractor and his company guilty of violating the Clean Air Act and other charges related to improper removal of asbestos (United States v. Gordon-Smith, W.D.N.Y., No 08-CR-6019,...more

Right To Counsel

You have a right to the representation of an attorney when you are charged with a crime, regardless of your ability to pay. How is this right applied, and what are some remedies when it's violated?...more

The 4th Amendment - Search And Seizure

The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees all citizens a right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure of their persons and property. However, it doesn't actually say what constitutes and...more

Sometimes Construction Can Turn Criminal

Christopher G. Hill, LEED AP and Virginia construction attorney discusses the potential criminal liability of a contractor that takes a construction deposit and fails to use it toward construction. Contractors and...more

Anti-Corruption Laws & Compliance

This articles reviews recent anti-corruption efforts affecting energy and infrastructure companies, and discusses key elements associated with compliance programs....more

OSHA Says Criminal Penalties Could Prevent Construction Accidents

Assistant Secretary of Labor Dr. David Michaels believes that adding criminal penalties to OSHA's arsenal could prevent construction accidents and other workplace injuries and deaths. He also says that OSHA needs and welcomes...more

State of Alabama v. Stephen Nodine

AMENDED ORDER OF RECUSAL, SUA SPONTE

Recusal Order of Cirsuit Judge Joseph S. Johnston (13th Circuit Alabama) involving the impeachment and criminal trial of county commissioner Stephen Nodine. The issue is subject of an American Spectator article which...more

Overview of the story in my book "Command Influence" The Politics of Injustice

My book: "Command Influence",The Politics of Injustice can now be purchased on Amazon Kindle eBooks for $9.95. See my website ;www.rshaines.com for Information about the book.The soft cover is now being printed and will...more

Federal Court Limits Retroactive Application of FCA Amendments

Congress recently expanded contractors’ liability under the civil False Claims Act (FCA). The substantive changes include eliminating the presentment requirement, adding liability for claims seeking non-United States funds,...more