“What goes up might take us upside down. Life ain’t a merry-go-round; it’s a roller coaster.” – Bon Jovi
The song may not have been about international trade, but the lyrics are certainly fitting for today’s unpredictable...more
4/30/2025
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Economic Sanctions ,
International Trade ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies
As the start of 2025 has already shown with the destructive Los Angeles wildfires, the impact of climate change on businesses and homes can be devastating. Many owners and construction contractors were already grappling with...more
The key to a successful construction project often lies in how much work you do long before the first shovel of dirt is turned. But where should an owner or developer focus their time and resources for the best possible...more
7/9/2024
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Environmental Policies ,
General Contractors ,
General-Business ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Prompt Payment ,
Subcontractors ,
Supply Chain
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a mandatory job transfer might be considered an “adverse employment action” under federal anti-discrimination law. Following this decision, which creates a lesser standard for...more
4/30/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
The U.S. Department of Energy recently released the first federal blueprint to decarbonize the building sector, which accounts for over a third of the nation’s planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. This plan, developed by...more
Gould & Ratner presents the next installment of our Construction Interview Series. As a continued effort to keep our clients informed of current trends in the construction industry, we will continue to periodically sit down...more
Throughout the past few years, the construction industry has been plagued with myriad issues, including supply chain constraints, labor shortages and material procurement problems, among others. Although some issues subsided...more
Although there is a recent trend of employees returning to the office on a more regular basis, continued reliance on and demand for data centers that help support remote and hybrid work only appear to be increasing. For...more
7/25/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automation Systems ,
Cloud Computing ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
Construction Project ,
Data Centers ,
Information Technology ,
Internet ,
Maintenance ,
Sustainability ,
Technology
On March 13, 2023, Illinois became only the third state to mandate paid time off for all workers in the state when it enacted the Paid Leave for All Workers Act. The act is effective January 1, 2024.
Under the act, covered...more
If you think that there is a lot of talk about new factory construction in the United States in recent months, you are correct. Ryan Beene, a writer for Bloomberg News, noted last year that some in financial circles had...more
In an effort to remain one of the leading major U.S. cities in environmental conservation, the City of Chicago passed the 2022 Chicago Energy Transformation Code, which amends the previous 2019 code. The amended code expands...more
The United Nations recently described climate change as “the defining crisis of our time.” Further, a flagship UN report on climate change declared that the world is on a fast track to disaster because of rising carbon...more
Chicago continues to be at the forefront of combatting sexual harassment in the workplace by further expanding the existing training requirements. Chicago employers have previously been required to provide annual sexual...more
The Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) issued new rules last week regarding the statutory change to the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, which extends its protections to domestic workers. In a press release, the IDOL’s Acting...more
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses across the country filed claims for business interruption coverage with their insurance carriers, most, if not all of which, were denied. Indeed, by the end of June 2021,...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a technical assistance document on March 14, detailing recommended best practices for employers managing workers with caregiver responsibilities.
The guidance...more
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues are becoming crucial drivers of operational and investment decisions in both the public and private spheres, and the construction industry is no exception. One area in...more
The U.S. Senate passed legislation on February 10, 2022, that prohibits employers from requiring arbitration with employees for certain disputes. The Ending Forced Arbitration Act, which President Biden is expected to sign,...more
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit granted the Biden administration’s request to dissolve the Fifth Circuit’s November 6 stay on the emergency Covid-19 “shot-or-test” rule.
The Occupational Safety...more
On November 5, OSHA released its much-anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), requiring employers with 100 or more employees to either implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy or a policy that requires a...more
On Monday, October 25, the EEOC issued the much-anticipated update to its COVID-19 guidance (What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws). The update again addresses how...more
10/26/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations
The CDC released new guidance last week in an effort to curb the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19. With cases on the rise, predominantly from the Delta variant, the CDC now recommends that both unvaccinated and...more
The Illinois Employee Sick Leave Act (ESLA) was recently amended to give workers more flexibility to care for their loved ones. ESLA was enacted in 2017 and allows employees to use at least a portion of their personal...more
The Chicago City Council last week passed an ordinance providing more rights to employees who take time off from work to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine. Effective immediately, this ordinance allows Chicago employees and...more
On Wednesday, President Biden detailed a plan that will allow small businesses to claim tax credits for giving paid time off to employees to get and recover from the COVID-19 vaccine.
Employers with fewer than 500...more