Legal/Regulation
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Construction's costliest OSHA fines of Q4 2019
One incident cited by the agency involved a 15-year-old roofer, who died after he fell through an unsupported roof section.
By Kim Slowey • Jan. 23, 2020 -
Austin, Texas, program requires contractors, developers to pay for employee parking
A new pilot program designed to curb parking shortages caused by construction workers in downtown Austin follows similar efforts by cities in Florida, California, Utah and Colorado.
By Jenn Goodman • Jan. 23, 2020 -
SNC-Lavalin ex-exec sentenced to 8 years in prison for fraud
The firm's construction arm also pleaded guilty to fraud and must pay a fine of CA$280 million and hire an independent monitor.
By Kim Slowey • Jan. 14, 2020 -
Lawsuits follow last year's Google Seattle site crane collapse
Families of two of the four deceased are suing crane owner Morrow Equipment, general contractor GLY Construction, Northwest Tower Crane Service, Omega Morgan and Seaburg Construction.
By Kim Slowey • Jan. 13, 2020 -
Arizona lawmakers introduce bill that would clear way for border wall projects on private land
State House Majority Leader Warren Petersen and 15 other Republicans want to amend regulations to exempt border wall projects built on private property from having to secure a building permit.
By Kim Slowey • Jan. 08, 2020 -
Contractors sue NYC's MTA over new debarment rules
A coalition of New York City contractors' groups finds fault with the transit authority's controversial debarment regulations designed to keep projects on time and on budget.
By Kim Slowey • Jan. 07, 2020 -
Concrete firm charged for using staffing company to re-hire undocumented workers
Speed Fab-Crete in Texas and the staffing agency are on the hook for felonies after they were found to be harboring some of the same workers ICE discovered during an earlier Form I-9 audit.
By Kim Slowey • Jan. 03, 2020 -
NY approves $51B MTA capital plan, its largest ever
Kicking off the massive program, the transit agency announced that it is seeking qualified design-build firms for work on 23 subway and rail stations.
By Kim Slowey • Jan. 02, 2020 -
Gov. Cuomo signs NYC design-build legislation
City officials have long claimed that using design-build for public works and other projects could save the city time and money.
By Kim Slowey • Jan. 02, 2020 -
Union accuses Amazon contractors of wage-related violations in Virginia
An Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters' report focuses on drywall subcontractors and the lower-tier subcontractors they reportedly hired to perform work on six projects involving four owners at sites near HQ2.
By Kim Slowey • Dec. 20, 2019 -
Takeaways from the year's construction calamities
This year, and this fall in particular, saw a number of high-profile accidents on U.S. jobsites. Here is a look back at some of the construction calamities from 2091 and the fallout that followed.
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Levelset draws $30M of investment, including funds from Darren Bechtel of Brick & Mortar
The New Orleans-based tech firm that helps smooth out the contractor payment process has now collected $47 million of outside funding.
By Kim Slowey • Dec. 20, 2019 -
Tutor Perini will take $119M charge, still appeal breach of contract verdict in $2B Washington DOT project litigation
Tutor Perini said it would take the charge in the fourth quarter after a state court jury awarded the Washington State DOT $57.2 million in a lawsuit centered on the SR 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement project on which the GC worked with Dragados USA.
By Kim Slowey • UPDATED: Dec. 20, 2019 at 2:51 p.m. -
Atlanta transit authority approves $27B regional plan
The plan includes 192 projects, with $21 billion earmarked for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.
By Kim Slowey • Dec. 17, 2019 -
Federal judge blocks Trump from using $3.6B of military funds for border wall
Though the Texas judge has issued a permanent injunction, the Supreme Court overturned a similar move issued by a federal judge in California earlier this year.
By Kim Slowey • Dec. 12, 2019 -
Contractor gets jail sentence for worker trench deaths
A judge in Boston found that Kevin Otto and Atlantic Drain Services "knowingly and willfully" put the victims of the 2016 incident in extreme danger by not using required cave-in protection methods.
By Kim Slowey • Dec. 11, 2019 -
Regulation of bird-friendly glass windows set for all new NYC construction
The new rule would require that 90% of the external building envelope for the first 75 feet of new construction and major alterations be made of bird-safe materials.
By Kim Slowey • UPDATED: Dec. 11, 2019 at 1:02 p.m. -
Tutor Perini owes $8M to prior owners of its MEP subsidiary
The contractor went to court over potential payout held up in holdback provisions during its 2011 acqusition of wholly-owned subcontracting firm Greenstar.
By Kim Slowey • Dec. 09, 2019 -
Hard Rock New Orleans developer extends demolition timeline to end of year
The owner said it's working with city engineers on a solution, but New Orleans Fire Chief Tim McConnell clarified this week that "It's the ownership's responsibility to make this right, to fix this problem."
By Kim Slowey • UPDATED: Jan. 8, 2020 at 11:11 a.m. -
Report: Scope of work changes top cause of construction disputes
Consultancy HKA said contractors could use technology as a way to reduce the number of disputes, but it is not a sure solution for human error.
By Kim Slowey • Dec. 04, 2019 -
Lawsuit threatens $275M Tennessee MLS stadium construction
A local activist organization claims that a city agency's unfair alliance to investors in the Nashville FC team swayed its awarding of contracts to Populous, Mortenson and Messer Construction.
By Kim Slowey • Nov. 27, 2019 -
ColumnThe Dotted Line: Everything you need to know about construction contracts
Contracts are crucial components of the construction process, but they can be among the most complicated and controversial aspects as well. As the industry shifts to increasingly collaborative project delivery methods and adopts new materials and technologies, construction professionals need to s...
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ColumnThe Dotted Line: What happens when a bonding company is called in
Making a claim against a performance bond is complicated, a legal expert explains, and it's critical to understand that the bonding company has four main options, outlined here.
By Kim Slowey • Nov. 26, 2019 -
Work resumes after building in Cincinnati under construction by Turner partially collapses, killing worker
Eight days after the deadly incident, structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti has deemed it safe to continue working on some sections of the mixed-use development.
By Joe Beeton • UPDATED: Dec. 3, 2019 at 10:05 a.m. -
Tappan Zee Constructors sues New York to prove it's owed $900M in bridge construction change orders
The construction consortium claims that the NY State Thruway Authority is dragging its feet on providing documents that show the drastic change orders made during construction of the new Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.
By Kim Slowey • Nov. 26, 2019
