Panama Canal owner say project ready to move on without contractor

There are at most a few days to get work going again with contractor consortium Grupo Unidos Por el Canal.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 7, 2014

St. Louis contractor claims union campaign led to death threat

The Carpenters' District Council has run a "shaming" campaign against Raineri Construction, and now they are in court after the owner says he felt his life was threatened.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 6, 2014

Momentum Builds for Revising the ACA’s Full-time Employee Definition

On Jan. 28, the House Ways and Means Committee held a congressional hearing on the impact of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer mandate definition of full-time employees. AGC joined the Employers for Flexibility in Health Care coalition in a letter to the committee highlighting that certain...

Feb. 6, 2014

Contracts may allow speeding up work to avoid delays down the road

if you can see a delay coming, the client may agree to have you speed up work before it happens, but there are some legal requirements for getting paid more for doing it.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 6, 2014

Oregon, two contractors sued in woman's death at construction site

Joy Groh's car got stuck near a ferry reconstruction project, and then she fell into a pit on the site, broke her ankle and died in the cold.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 4, 2014

Engineer arrested in Canadian mall roof collapse

The collapse in 2012 killed two people and injured a third, and provincial police now have charged Robert Wood with criminal negligence.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 4, 2014

AGC asks Army Corps to skip labor agreements for N.C. contracts

Associated General Contractors is urging the Army not to force bidders to set up agreements to pay prevailing uniuon wages in order to bid for Corps of Engineers business in eastern N.C. and Va.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 29, 2014

DOT issues new rule to speed up highway, transit reviews

The federal agency says that projects being built in existing rights of way and ones with less than $5 million in federal funding can get faster environmental reviews.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 20, 2014

Marijuana legal in Colorado—but not if you work construction

State law may allow pot smoking in Colorado now, with Washington state to follow and perhaps others, but the advice to contractors about employee use has not changed.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 14, 2014

L.A. takes a shine to reflective roofs with code change

The Municipal Building Code in the City of Angels has been amended to require less-heat-absorbing lids on homes in new construction or roof replacements.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 13, 2014

Court action forces Vikings Stadium bond sale to take time-out

The state was going to sell the first round of bonds to finance the new Vikings football stadium in Minneapolis on Monday, but a court filing on Friday broke up that play.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 12, 2014

Half of U.S. construction workforce hangs in immigration limbo

Auditing firms' I-9 files simply drives tax-paying but illegal immigrant workers to become subcontractors who pay nothing and stay hidden as "expenses" rather than "payroll."

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 8, 2014

OSHA fines, death lawsuit come from Texas A&M accidents

Two contractors have been assessed penalties in a June incident on the campus, and the family of a worker killed in a December demolition accident is suing six contractors.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 8, 2014

OSHA adds month for comments on plan for electronic injury reporting

The agency said it was adding the 30-day window because the National Association of Home Builders requested it.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 7, 2014

Employers will not have to post notice about workers' right to organize

Down 0-2 in court battles over a proposal to make employers put up right-to-organize notices, the National Labor Relations Board has dropped the idea.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 7, 2014

Denver mayor backs lawsuit limits to encourage condo building

Mayor Michael Hancock supports the idea of giving developers a chance to fix any problems before buyers are allowed to sue.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 6, 2014

AGC again urges DOT to hold off on regulation changes

Associated General Contractors filed comments saying that a proposal for more paperwork about hiring disadvantaged subcontractors is both expensive and perhaps ill-advised, given recent criticism.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 6, 2014

Protection through an LLC requires more than just filing papers

It is important to make clear that actions and decisions are being made for the LLC and to never mingle corporate and personal funds.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 2, 2014

Wider EPA authority over smaller water bodies could be contractors' headache

The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to clarify its authority to regulate what happens along brooks, streams and other small water bodies while opponents say there is no authority.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 2, 2014

Report: Two Calif. cities used outdated fault-zone info in approving projects

In Los Angeles and Santa Monica, local officials did not apply demanding state study requirements because maps did not show the real proximity of the faults to the buildings.

By Ron Gallagher • Jan. 1, 2014

Feds join local, state authorities in Denver construction fire probe

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives entered the investigation at the request of fire officials, who have not determined what turned the job site into a giant torch.

By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 17, 2013

Scientist sees low risk to public from development on contaminated Baltimore parcel

Beatty Development Group LLC is planning to build on a site on the city's Inner Harbor where a protective cap keeps chromium in place.

By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 10, 2013

N.Y. 'Scaffold Law' a point of contention between unions and contractors

The law puts the damages for a construction worker's fall all on the employer, no matter what.

By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 9, 2013

Supreme Court: Forum selection clause stands in contractor dispute

The court said a provision allowing the contractor to decide where a case should be heard remains in force barring a special reason to ignore it.

By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 6, 2013

Penn. concrete worker wins $2.25M in injury suit

The lawsuit should serve as a lesson in following procedure, even if it's frustrating.

By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 5, 2013