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 cities used outdated fault-zone info in approving projects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

Running union, open-shop companies side-by-side is uncertain legal territory

Courts in different areas have ruled differently when unions have sued to say it's all the same business and contracts should apply.

By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 5, 2013

Crane crash, other problems change deadlines for World Cup venues

Construction on the Sao Paulo stadium where two workers died Nov. 27 has partially resumed, and arenas in two other cities are behind, so a Dec. 31 deadline has evaporated.

By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 4, 2013

Philly is considering construction worker IDs to prove safety training

If an ordinance that is floating around the City Council gets passed as written, workers on any construction job in Philadelphia would need an ID card showing they had OSHA safety training.

By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 4, 2013

Judge to sentence Penn. contractor, developer for mall project kickbacks

Springdale, Pa., contractor Robert E. Crawford pleaded guilty to mail fraud in a scheme that gave his company construction contracts in Washington state and California.

By Ron Gallagher • Dec. 3, 2013

Pa. contractor runs afoul of OSHA fall-prevention campaign

Airworks Construction faces a penalty of $36,960 after a complaint brought on an OSHA inspection.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 24, 2013

Pinnacle Construction simplifies subcontractor compliance

The company's project management arm developed a system that spans a range of requirements.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 21, 2013

Palo Alto to builders: Pick up the pace or pay fines

The California city is expected to pass an ordinance that will impose escalating fines if a project goes past the expiration of its permit without a builder getting an extension.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 21, 2013

U.S. charges N.J. contractor skipped millions in personal, workers' taxes

The U.S. attorney in New Jersey said Frank Chimento Jr. did not collect federal and state taxes from workers, did not make union benefit payments and dodged his own taxes.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 20, 2013

Cover your site, yourself and your workers with a written safety plan

Before scaffolding goes up or equipment rolls in, create a written safety plan specific to the job at hand and make every worker acknowledge getting a copy.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 17, 2013

Fla. contractor fined $77K for fatal 70-foot plunge

Coastal Masonry of Pompano Beach, Fla., has two weeks to decide if it will raise arguments against the fine levied by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 17, 2013

OSHA drops $397,000 in fines on demo contractors in fatal Philadelphia collapse

The government is continuing its probe of the June 5 wall collapse that killed six and hurt 14, but said no one would have died "if the two employers had followed very obvious and very basic safety precautions…."

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 14, 2013

OSHA wants companies to give it injury data electronically

A proposed rule would initially make companies with 250 or more workers send injury and illness data by computer.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 11, 2013

Settlement ends U.S. bribery allegations against Iraqi contractor

A Baghdad-based company that the U.S. charged had bribed a Corps of Engineers official for insider information on work has paid $2.7 million, and the case is closed.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 11, 2013

Does your company know who should do what during a job-site accident?

There are going to be accidents when humans are involved in construction, so it is wise to know what your company should do after calling 911.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 11, 2013

NYC proposal would limit construction to daylight hours (mostly)

Three members of the New York City Council have filed a bill that, if it became a city ordinance, would restrict construction to after 7 a.m. and before 8 p.m. on weekdays.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 5, 2013

Michigan court rules: Neighborhood 1, contractor's longtime yard 0

In Ypsilanti, Mich., McCormick Construction has been told to move out of the neighborhood that grew up around it.

By Ron Gallagher • Nov. 4, 2013

Mich. construction company ordered to move by court

McCormick Construction has called the residential location home since 1946.

By Roger Riddell • Nov. 4, 2013