Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

The Pennsylvania state legislature is now getting involved in the building collapse case in Philadelphia. Two state house committees will be holding hearings on the accident to evaluate how building codes impact demolition work and whether changes to the code can prevent the type of accidents that occurred in this instance. Both the Labor & Industry and Urban Affairs Committees will hold hearings on Tuesday at 1:00 at the Seaport Museum in Philadelphia.

The dates for Pennsylvania’s annual conference on safety in the construction industry have been announced. The Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health Conference, now in its 67th year, will take place at Hershey Lodge and Convention Center on October 28th and October 29th. The agenda for the conference is wide ranging and covers safety topics from aerial lifts to power tools to industrial hygiene.

There is good news for the construction industry in a recent report by economist Anirban Basu. The performance of hotels in the United States has improved over the last 12 months. As a result, more hotels are being built or renovated. More specifically, Philadelphia is among the improved cities with regard to occupancy rates with a 21% increase.

With summer in full swing and the work weeks filling up with sweltering conditions for outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is renewing its emphasis on its “Water. Rest. Shade.” program. The informational effort is designed to warn workers about how heat stress occurs and, better yet, how to recognize the signs and prevent it.

A subcontractor debarred by the City of Philadelphia has lost its legal fight to dispute the debarment for violations of minority participation rules. The City previously debarred JHK, Inc., because it had allegedly misrepresented its minority work volume. JHK formally disputed the debarment and its claim was heard by a special Debarment Panel under the auspices of the City Finance Department.

State Representative Scott Petri (R. Bucks) is pushing legislation that would impose an impact fee on new development in order to fund capital improvements in the transportation sector. House Bill No. 148 (former HB 454) seeks to amend the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Code so that municipalities and school districts can development impact fees upon new developments – residential, commercial and industrial alike.

The fact that contractors working in the City of Philadelphia have routinely used work-arounds to get work classified as minority-owned, woman-owned, or disabled-owned is among the construction world’s worst kept secrets. One of the strategies – hiring businesses that qualify for DBE contracts and using them as a pass-through – recently came under serious scrutiny by the City. In an effort to crack down on what City officials argue is an abuse of the system, the Office of Inspector General has started to investigate more claims. It also recently identified and cited a number of prime contractors for violating the DBE rules. One contractor, William H. Betz, Inc., was the center of recent attention.

On July 20, 2013, the Philadelpia Union will honor our military heroes as part of their match against the Portland Timbers.  Local troops will be invited onto the field for a pre-game ceremony and provided a free ticket to the game through donations by local businesses and individuals.

Until very recently, contractors performing excavation and site preparation work did not have the right to file a mechanic’s lien in Pennsylvania unless a building or other improvement was actually constructed at the site. That rule abruptly changed on May 17, 2013 in a decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in B.N. Excavating, Inc. v PBC Hollow-A, L.P., et. al. Based on this decision, contractors now have the right to file mechanic’s liens in Pennsylvania for excavation and site preparation work even if a building or other structure is not ultimately constructed at the site. This is a significant change in the application of the Pennsylvania Mechanic’s Lien Law.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry recently rolled out a new program called “Make it Right”, which offers amnesty to both individuals who owe money for unemployment compensation overpayments and to businesses that are delinquent in unemployment compensation tax payments. The program, which established and authorized the Unemployment Compensation Amnesty Program (Amnesty Program) in June 2012, is an attempt to regain $356 million currently owed to the UC Fund. It will run from June 1, 2013 to August 31, 2013.