A Federal District Court in Texas struck down portions of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) revisions to the Davis-Bacon Act Regulations, effectively reducing the scope of work that will be subject to Davis-Bacon Act wages....more
On April 9, 2024, The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced numerous revisions to its in-place rules for administering its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program. The new rule follows a Notice of Proposed...more
The Petition - On February 14, 2024, Cornerstone Chemical Company ("Petitioner") filed an antidumping duty ("ADD") petition on imports of melamine from Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Qatar, and Trinidad and Tobago...more
In 2022, the United States experienced 18 separate weather and climate disasters costing at least one billion dollars according to NOAA. In 2023, that number rose to 28 separate billion dollar weather events. The frequency...more
The federal government recently released long-awaited guidance regarding the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act requirements included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58; IIJA). On August 14, 2023,...more
This month’s bid protest roundup looks at two GAO protests from August. One examines the risks of using former federal employees to assist with proposal development when their prior access to non-public information might...more
Just in time for the season of new backpacks, lunch boxes, and school supplies, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has assigned some homework to contractors looking to participate in Federal financial assistance...more
For the first time in 40 years, the Department of Labor (DOL) updated its interpretation and implementation of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts in new final rules. DOL’s new final rules concerning the prevailing wages and...more
Ports and terminals serve as the primary infrastructure for movement of goods and commodities in and out of a country and therefore play a vital role in global trade. As well as facilitating trade, ports and terminals also...more
Traditionally, many federal contracts contain tax exemption provisions relating to state sales and use taxes being charged against the purchase and inclusion of materials and equipment to be incorporated into federal...more
In accordance with the Biden administration's Federal Sustainability Plan, on November 14, 2022, President Biden proposed the Federal Supplier Climate Risks and Resilience Rule. The goal of the proposal, as described by the...more
Le secteur de l’agroalimentaire et des produits alimentaires et embouteillés figure au nombre des secteurs les plus durement touchés par la pandémie de COVID-19. Malgré l’assouplissement des restrictions et le retour à un...more
The food, beverage and agribusiness (FBA) industry was among the most impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite restrictions easing, and the industry returning to a degree of normalcy, businesses operating in the space...more
Contractors learned many lessons from 2020-2022 on material/labor availability, price escalation, and contractual allocations of risk. Prudent contractors will consider this in contracts moving forward....more
On June 30, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 54, putting into place some of the nation’s strictest, far-reaching regulations on packaging materials. The legislation mandates significantly reduced use...more
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and economic sanctions imposed by countries around the world in response have disrupted supplies of fuel, steel, and other materials necessary for construction. This has resulted in price...more
In its recently released 76-page report, required under President Biden’s Executive Order 14017, “America’s Supply Chains,” the US Department of Energy (DOE) finds that “[t]he opportunity for US global leadership on clean...more
The annual inflation rate in the United States rose 7% in 2021, its highest rate since 1982. The construction industry has not been immune from this general trend, with steel prices rising 200% and lumber prices soaring as...more
Looming large on the 2022 construction landscape horizon is the specter of cost escalation claims. Over the past year, rising prices have become extreme, and the clauses governing cost escalation have come under greater...more
The current state of the construction industry as it concerns cost escalation and supply issues is one of uncertainty and time of performance problems resulting in increasing costs. There are major disruptions and delays in...more
Earlier this year, the soaring cost of lumber and other construction materials made headlines throughout mainstream media as contractors and owners grappled with the consequences of market volatility. While the construction...more
Material price escalations and supply chain disruptions are hot topics in the industry, with many clients inquiring about their rights and how these risks should be shared. Some have even questioned whether their projects...more
Spikes in building material costs and unforeseen delays in delivery are some of the unexpected consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The true impact of these consequences in the construction industry are just beginning to be...more
Over the course of the pandemic, contractors and material suppliers have been forced to find creative ways to maintain a competitive business model while accounting for the meteoric rise of building material costs. When...more
Suppliers of construction products and materials frequently find that their products and materials are used in projects located in states where the supplier may not have an office, factory, or production facility. Some...more