Philadelphia Construction Law Blog

It remains early in both Governor Tom Wolf’s term and the 2015 legislative session. Nonetheless, there is already some legislation which would impact the construction industry making the rounds in Harrisburg.

The Green Building Certification Institute, which handles certification for the U.S. Green Building Council responsible for LEED Certification, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Parking Institute and the Green Parking Council. The goal of the cooperation agreement is to encourage sustainability in the transportation network that supports green buildings. The ultimate goal is to create and promote a Green Garage Certification program that will apply the same ideas that drive the LEED Certification process in the parking component of construction.

According to the Raleigh, North Carolina based form FMI Corp., 2014 was a vastly better year than 2013 in terms of total construction in place (CPIP). The total for 2014 was $62 billion more – a 7 percent increase – than the year before. The gross number for 2014 was estimated to be around $972 billion. In even better news, the projected number for 2015 exceeds $1 trillion.

As-built drawings, or renderings of the building as constructed, are common in the industry. Many contracts require that the contractor or subcontractor providing the labor and materials to construct the project provide them as part of the close out documents. This is because there is often variation between the design, specifications, and final constructed product. Sometimes this change is known; while on other occasions it can be an unknown fact until it is measured.

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.

This weekend’s Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks is being played in Glendale, Arizona at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Home to the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL, University of Phoenix Stadium was constructed at a cost of $455 million and took 3 years to build.

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.

One of the biggest commercial real estate brokerage firms in New Jersey is reporting some positive numbers for New Jersey’s real estate and construction economy. According to recent information released by the company, new industrial space was built at the fastest pace seen since 2002 last year. In addition, nearly 12 million square feet of existing tenant space was reabsorbed by the tenants back in the market.

The construction industry is a great way to earn a living and offers the opportunity for workers to offer tangible improvements to the world around them.