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The Federal Claims Court recently ruled against the United States government on claims that it improperly terminated a metal building contractor on a U.S. Coast Guard project. The claim arose when a plethora of problems out of the control of the contractor, K-Con, Inc., caused it to deliver the project late.

On February 10, 2014, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced its intention to extend the time for compliance with the crane operator certification by 3 years, or until November 2017. There is also discussion about delaying its implementation indefinitely. Intense criticism and concern over the rule on this subject issued by OSHA in August 2010 is cited as the reason for the change. The Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health is leading the charge on the concerns and recommended the delay. Comments on the delay are due by March 12, 2014.

The Supreme Court recently held oral argument in Noel Canning, a case in which the recess appointments of President Obama to the National Labor Relations Board were challenged. While that case will have no short term implications since the same appointees have since been ushered through a more legitimate process, it is anticipated by most legal scholars that the administration will lose this battle

The Engineering News Record recently reported that the push on public health concerns and environmental issues has caused the Environmental Protection Agency to begin imposing more stringent rules on the presence of organic and inorganic contaminants in drinking water. The American Water Works Association indicates it expects even more regulations in the industry soon as the EPA races to get them out before President Obama leaves office in 2016.

As lawyers, our clients look to us for answers. But we also learn from our clients. Winning strategies come from a combination of legal know-how and a clear understanding of the problems our clients face and the trends in the construction world. To this second point, the following is an article entitled “Out Educate, Out Build, Out Innovate” posted on the Metal Construction News website by one of Kaplin Stewart’s clients. It’s author, Gary Smith, is currently the president or Thomas Phoenix International and will be the president of the Metal Building Contractors and Erectors Association in 2013. ____________________ “Out Educate, Out Build, Out Innovate” was the title of a recent National Education and Action Summit I attended organized by the U.S. Department of Labor. Its focus was to reflect on the important contributions of registered apprenticeship programs on the 75th anniversary of the signing of the National Apprenticeship Act. I was thrilled to participate in this important summit. Since I returned from Washington, D.C., I’ve been thinking about the title and how it applies to my company, Thomas Phoenix International. With regards to “Out Build,” I would pit my Thomas Phoenix crews against any in the world. I know my men are superior: they are highly skilled, highly professional and committed to their trade. They are skilled craftsmen who know how to deliver complex pre-engineered buildings. The Thomas Phoenix team all subscribe to a code that Jim Owen, author of “Cowboy Ethics,” calls the “Code of the West:”  Live […]

This summer, Pennsylvania became another in a lengthening list of states to pass legislation relating allowing public entities to enter agreements with private developers to manage the public entity’s interest in public projects. In essence, public transportation projects like toll roads can now be turned over to private entities to build, manage, and care for in return for a profit. The difference between this and the more traditional approach is that while the state or local governmental entity still owns the property in a technical sense, a private entity is the practical owner.

This being an election year, immigration policy is being debated again in national politics. It is an especially hot topic given the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on Arizona’s immigration law and President Obama’s announcement that he will no longer prosecute illegal immigrants in certain demographics. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has now become part of the debate.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently approved an ambitious $2 billion plan by the City of Philadelphia to drastically transform how stormwater and sewer overflows are managed. Known as the “Green City, Clean Waters” plan, Philadelphia’s initiative will implement the use of innovative green solutions to address the persistent problem of excessive and unsanitary stormwater runoff and sewer overflow. It also involves a substantial investment in green construction over the next two and a half decades.