Federal and state governmental agencies have announced crackdowns on independent contractor misclassifications. For example, President Obama�s fiscal year 2011 budget sets aside $25 million for the Dept. of Labor and the Dept. of Treasury to investigate worker misclassifications. Also, the Internal Revenue Service has reported that the federal government loses billions of tax dollars due to misclassifications and the ultimate goal of the program is to recoup up to $7 billion in unpaid employment taxes over the next 10 years. In addition to protecting the interests of workers who are misclassified, this loss of revenue has contributed to federal and
A key factor for a contractor to consider in pricing its goods and services at an amount that is both palatable to the purchaser and profitable for the contractor is an astute evaluation of the underlying costs and any expected increases. Accuracy in evaluating and forecasting these figures is important because even a minor deviation could effectively render a profitable contract unviable. Of course, the problem facing contractors is that a construction contract may cover a project spanning several years, during which time unforeseen circumstances, both micro and macroeconomic, may result in increases to costs that were completely unexpected at
At a time when demand remains strong for new and upgraded facilities at colleges and universities, institutions are delaying projects because funding is difficult to obtain. Still, some projects are moving forward. �The education market in the Southeast is flat, which means it�s fairly good compared to other markets,� says Scott MacLeod, Skanska USA Building chief operating officer for the Southeast in Atlanta. �Our two strongest markets in the Southeast are health care and education.� Skanska is building the $140-million, 297,000-sq-ft Hillsborough Hospital and 68,000-sq-ft Medical Office Building for the University of North Carolina Hospitals in Hillsborough, and a $13.9-million
Despite the ongoing construction slump, there is always demand for a more efficient and cost-effective building solution. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" A Florida-based builder of concrete homes and other structures thinks it has such an innovation in its modular concrete building system that it is utilizing throughout South Florida and the Caribbean, including Haiti. After some noteworthy recent successes in Palm Beach County, the Keys and pre-earthquake Haiti, officials with Royal Concrete Concepts of West Palm Beach are pitching their modular system as a building solution that can be shipped and constructed quickly almost anywhere. �Our products combined
It�s no secret: 2009 was another bad year for many contractors working in the four-state Southeast region. Numerous firms closed their doors for good. Others sold out to bigger, more prosperous contractors. Nationally, unemployment in the construction industry topped 22% at one point in 2009, only to escalate further in 2010. And unless a contractor was able to snag some stimulus work, opportunities remained relatively sparse. In that regard, being recognized as the �Contractor of the Year� for accomplishments in 2009 could be viewed as akin to winning an award for making the best of a bad situation. And by
Despite Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s (I) authorization this month of as much as $200 million for a long-term effort to provide upgraded sewer systems for the Florida Keys, the prospects are poor for funding in total the estimated $937-million project. The governor’s action—which also extended the project deadline to 2015 from July 2010—does not provide a timeline for delivery of the Everglades Restoration bonds; it only authorizes the Florida Legislature to initiate the $200 million in bonding sometime in the future. Liz Wood, Monroe County’s senior administrator for sewer projects, says the nine municipalities and utilities that will build the
Environmental giant CDM is in talks about a possible link with transportation engineer Wilbur Smith. A merger or acquisition if completed would combine two businesses with strong brands in their respective markets and more than 100 years of combined operating history. Both are based on the U.S. east coast but operate internationally. CDM is a Cambridge, Mass.-based engineering and construction management firm and Wilbur Smith & Associates Inc. is a Columbia, S.C., transportation designer. The transaction is in “due diligence,” says a CDM spokeswoman, declining to note the nature or timing of any new association. “This would be a good
Last month, more than 1,100 lb of strategically placed explosives brought down the 24,000-ton, 455-ft-tall cooling tower at the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Savannah River site in Aiken, S.C., the second largest such structure to be imploded, says the firm. “The implosion surpassed everyone’s expectations,” says Doug Loizeaux, vice president of Controlled Demolition Inc. (CDI), Phoenix, Md. The firm was the explosives preparation and performance subcontractor to American Demolition and Nuclear Decommissioning, Grand Island, N.Y., which received the approximately $4-million contract to implode the former nuclear-site cooling tower and remove debris. The latter task will be handled by LVI Services
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (I) wielded his veto on May 28, returning $160 million in funds to the state Transportation Trust Fund and $19 million to the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority. “It’s awesome,” says Bob Burleson, president of the Florida Transportation Builders’ Association (FTBA) in Tallahassee. “He sent a strong message to the Legislature and future legislatures to keep their hands off the trust fund.” Dick Kane, communications director for the Florida Dept. of Transportation in Tallahassee, issued a statement responding to the governor’s veto, saying, “We appreciate that the Governor recognizes the value and job opportunities the Florida Dept.
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