Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

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.

Skyscrapers have become a normal part of the skyline in many major metropolitan areas.  Many of them are far in excess of 100 floors in the modern world.  Can you name the first building in the world to have 100 floors or more though?  For extra credit, how long did it take to build this building?

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted a long standing issue in construction workplace safety circles. The protection of residential contractors – roofing contractors in particular – from falls on the job. While the problem has been relatively quiet in recent years, it is starting to gain more attention as an increase in injuries and deaths from falls correlates with a rise in the new construction housing market.

After Congress refused to pass a new minimum wage law, President Obama signed Executive Order 13658 in June of this year raising the minimum wage on all new contracts or replacement contracts for expiring agreements issued after January 1, 2015, to $10.10 an hour. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division then issued a final rule following that lead on October 7, 2014. This change in the law will apply to construction contractors until at least the expiration of President Obama’s term and the entry of a subsequent Executive Order by subsequent President and/or Department of Labor Change in policy.

One of the most famous buildings in the modern world was designed by Charles L’Enfant and was the largest residence in the United States until the Civil War. Identify the building and it’s location.  For extra credit, name the first family to live in the building.

As a construction lawyer, I deal with cases involving non-payment every day. Sometimes I represent the owner and on other occasions I represent the contractor or subcontractor. I have even represented sureties on payment related issues. No matter which company I represent, however, payment issues often come down to one single common denominator: a lack of practical planning combined with a failure to build contingencies into bids.

The Philadelphia Business Journal is reporting that New Jersey Federal Judge Joseph Rodriguez recently accepted a guilty plea from an OSHA instructor who admits to selling fake OSHA 30 Hour Certification Cards.

The word on the street is that Apple’s I-Phone 6 will be released soon. This may even include a “watch-phone” that almost everyone assumed – despite being convinced it was way off in the future – was coming at some point. This is just more evidence that technology is constantly evolving and changing the way we do business every day.

President Obama recently signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act into law. The bill had overwhelming support from all sectors of the construction labor workforce and was a bipartisan effort in both houses of Congress.

The Hoover Dam is still considered one of the most impressive engineering and construction accomplishments of all time. Relying on the largest known reservoir in the United States, it provides massive amounts of hydroelectric power to the power grid. But it was not always called the Hoover Dam.