Related Links: Planning To Punish Structures With Rain, Hail, Wind and Fire Maryland closed a loophole in its building code with a law signed May 16. The measure prevents jurisdictions from weakening Maryland's Building Performance Standards for wind design and windborne debris resistance."The legislation signed by Gov. [Martin] O'Malley (D) corrects a previous flaw in the...statewide building code," says Debra Ballen, general counsel and senior vice president of public policy for the Institute of Business & Home Safety—a Tampa, Fla.-based insurance industry group. The flaw Ballen refers to allows local amendments to weaken the wind resistance provisions in Maryland Building
Related Links: U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit May 7 Ruling NLRB Fact Sheet on Posting Requirement In a victory for employers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has quashed the National Labor Relations Board's "posting requirement" rule, which the agency issued in August 2011.The final rule, which has not gone into effect because of the legal dispute, requires most businesses to post notices in conspicuous places informing workers of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Some of those rights include forming, joining or assisting a union as well as collectively bargaining through
Related Links: Disputed Shift by Insurance Brokers Entangles Contractor Clients Watch Out for Workers' Comp Costs Effective this March, the Insurance Services Office (ISO) revised its forms and endorsements for commercial general liability. This latest round of CGL changes is the largest the industry has seen in years. Major and minor modifications, along with new endorsements, could significantly affect, and in some cases narrow, the scope of CGL coverage moving forward. While insurers are obligated to notify insureds about changes that affect policy coverage, as always, the burden of due diligence ultimately falls on contractors to understand their coverage and
Related Links: April 23 Court Ruling (PDF) Earthjustice Amicus Brief The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has handed environmental groups a victory in their battle to restrict mountaintop removal mining, but coal advocates say the recent decision is not necessarily the death knell for the practice.The appeals court ruled on April 23 that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority under the Clean Water Act to retroactively veto a previously approved U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging permit.In 2011, EPA overturned a 2007 Corps permit issued to the Mingo Logan Coal Co., a subsidiary of
A rainstorm, a flood, children trapped in a minivan. Rushing water sweeps a senior citizen into a sewer. The shocking nature of the deaths belie the bigger issues involving neglected urban infrastructure and the potential liability of engineering consultants.Personal injury attorneys often file lawsuits that engineering companies and engineers consider frivolous. These "shotgun" lawsuits really are attempts to intimidate the engineers into a settlement, insurance broker Jeffrey Cavignac wrote years ago, because the cost of defending against the lawsuits can easily surpass any fees earned on the project and it's cheaper to give in.How does a long-neglected piece of urban
Related Links: Justice Dept. 2012 release on guilty plea (9/7/12) Three Former Corps of Engineers Project Officials Indicted for Iraq Bribery (ENR 7/25/11) A former Army Corps of Engineers employee has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for taking $3.7 million in bribes and kickbacks on federal contracts in Iraq, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul J. Fishman said.Judge Jose L. Linares imposed the sentence on March 12 in federal district court in Newark, N.J.The Dept. of Justice said ex-Corps project engineer John Alfy Salama Markus had pleaded guilty last September to three counts of a 54-count indictment that
9/28/12 release: U.S. intervenes in case CH2M Hill Cos. Ltd. has agreed to pay $18.5 million to settle federal civil and criminal fraud charges of overstating hours worked and inflating claims filed for work under a contract at the Dept. of Energy’s Hanford site in Washington state, the Dept. of Justice said.Under the agreement, announced on March 7, CH2M Hill, Englewood, Colo., also agreed to spend an additional $500,000 to set up accountability systems and continue to cooperate with what the Justice Dept. termed an “ongoing fraud investigation.”The case deals
Photo by Martin Gonzalez After demolition of the dilapidated Chicago-area hotel, a federal judge halted plans for a high-end, eco-friendly conference center after allegations the developer had bilked investors. A federal judge has halted plans to construct the "world's first zero-carbon-emission platinum LEED-certified" hotel and conference center in Chicago after a federal suit accused its developer of fraudulently selling more than $145 million in securities and $11 million in fees to foreign investors.In a suit filed in February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleges Anshoo Sethi, the Intercontinental Trust Center of Chicago and the Chicago Convention Center "perpetuated a
Two former employees of Trojan Labor of Nashville LLC charge in a federal lawsuit that the company violated wage and hour laws and docked their wages for safety equipment it should have provided.John T. Taylor and Michael J. Dooley are seeking class action status for themselves and all similar employees of the temporary staffing firm over the past three years.Workers had to report at Trojan Labor offices as early as 4 a.m. to sign in and get a “work ticket,” but had to wait there before going in a mandatory carpool to the jobsite, according to the suit filed Feb.
Related Links: High Stakes Las Vegas Stadium Gamble May Go Bust View Other ENR Legal Stories The city of Henderson, Nev., southeast of Las Vegas, claims it got duped into a sweetheart public land deal by Austin, Texas-based developer Christopher F. Milam, who proposed building a multi-arena sports complex, according to a Jan. 28 lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court. The city contends that Milam "conspired" to falsely buy 485 acres of federal land southeast of Interstate 15 and St. Rose Parkway "below what a true competitive bidding process would yield" and "sell it piecemeal to residential and commercial
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