Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

Payment clauses … no construction contract clause has a more immediate impact on the bottom line for contractors of all shapes and sizes. Understanding payment clauses can be the key to knowing when to press for payment or not and, ultimately, whether payment will ever arrive for work on a project. Careful review of your contracts with the help of counsel is a shrewd approach; but here are the basics at the risk of over-simplification.

Following the lead set in President Obama’s Executive Order 13658, the Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division issued a final rule raising the minimum wage for workers providing labor on federal construction and service contracts to $10.10 an hour.This final rule applies to new and replacement contracts that result from solicitations after January 1, 2015. It also places the Secretary of Labor in charge of setting the minimum wage beginning in 2016 with the restriction that the Secretary cannot ever lower it.

For many, Disney World is the “happiest place on earth”. Built in the early 1970s, the first theme park to open there was the Magic Kingdom. Two hotels that are still part of the resort – the Contemporary and Polynesian Resort Hotels – were opened at the same time.

It’s Election Day across the country. Voting for our leaders is one of the most sacred rights we have as Americans. Regardless of your political party affiliation or the issues that are important to you, please find time to vote today.

One of the most iconic symbols of American pride is the Statute of Liberty. Standing on Ellis Island in the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, it represents much of what is great about America. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration revised its safety regulations governing work on electric power grids in July 2014. A final rule was passed imposing new safety standards to more closely track general industry standards. These changes will result in some revisions to both the construction of power grids and the maintenance of those grids by power companies and hired contractors.

The International Green Construction Code was developed by the International Code Council -more commonly known as the ICC – and first published in 2012. Its state purpose is to develop a model code for the measurement of sustainability in the construction industry. The goal in developing the code is to “make buildings more efficient, reduce waste, and have a positive impact on health, safety and community welfare”.

Reviewing construction contracts is a regular part of my practice as a construction attorney. From limited reviews of specific provisions to preparation of an entire array of form contracts, I have seen many different contract clauses and methodologies to evaluate them. In the end, contracts are about the allocation of risk. While the Rules of Professional Conduct prohibit me from giving legal advice as part of this blog, there are some clauses that commonly draw more attention when time is limited in the contract formation stage. Here are the top 5:

It should be the goal of every owner and construction company to return employees home for dinner safely every day. In addition to being the right thing to do, workers who are injured, or worse, don’t show up for work the next day. Safety is and should be one of those symbiotic relationships that all parts of the construction community can work on together.

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.