Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

A new Philadelphia ordinance, effective July 1, 2016, will have a significant effect on employers who fail to pay wages to their employees for work performed in Philadelphia. Titled Wage Theft Complaints, the ordinance provides for administrative and court remedies, and penalties for “wage theft”, defined by the ordinance as any violation of the Pennsylvania Wage, Payment and Collection Law, Minimum Wage Act, or any other federal or state law regulating the payment of wages, for work performed in Philadelphia.

Beginning April 11, 2016, the Philadelphia Department of Licenses & Inspections (L&I) will be strictly enforcing the Working Training Requirements under Philadelphia Code provisions A-1001.3 through A-1001.5. The Working Training Requirements are summarized as follows:

Realen Properties is partnering with New Orleans developer HRI Properties, a company that specializes in renovating historic structures, to convert the Liberty Title & Trust building at 101 N. Broad St. into a hotel. Realen presented plans on Wednesday to the Philadelphia Art Commission for a 179 room hotel under Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ Aloft flag at the 21-story 1920s building. The building will have direct access to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Completion is expected in spring of 2017.

It has long been the custom in Philadelphia that individual City Council members have the final say on land development and zoning issues within the bounds of the districts they represent. Even projects that are good for the City as a whole and supported by a majority of City Council members can be stopped by a single member of council when this unwritten rule is invoked.

Philadelphia has put a new city ordinance in place that implements its policy of ensuring that all employees – whether working for a public or private entity – within the city limits, get paid sick time. Bill number 141026 became effective in May. With one notable exception for people working under a collective bargaining agreement, it applies to all construction and development companies.

OSHA CeritifcationsOSHA CeritifcationsAs part of the reaction to the tragic loss of life when a demolition contractor caused a building collapse at 22nd and Market Streets approximately 2 years ago, Philadelphia City Council passed a new city ordinance imposing licensure requirements for demolition contractors. That law, which was signed by Mayor Nutter, also imposed a new training requirement for some contractors to obtain and keep their contractor’s license.

Open shop developers and contractors alike will soon have a new rule to contend with when they work in Philadelphia. The new ordinance mandating paid sick leave for companies with 10 or more employees will go into effect on June 13, 2015. Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement or working as independent contractors are exempt from the new law.

After the City of Philadelphia recently passed new ordinances directing the display of contractor licenses, the use of permits, and the posting of job sites for all contractors, further requirements to perform demolition or construction work inside the City limits went into effect on January 1, 2014.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently concluded an investigation into possible lead exposure at a high profile construction project in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. The developer agreed to pay $3,000 in fines with no admission of liability. Its remediation subcontractor, however, was cited for 22 separate violations relating to lead exposure and hit with $34,000 in fines.

Certain locales, including Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey, are using a new technology created by a Madison, Wisconsin company to measure travel times on roads. The technology picks up blue tooth signals from cell phones to measure the travel time between defined points on highways.