In October, Governor Murphy issued Executive Order 271 (the order), imposing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on contractors who work on state projects. Specifically, the order requires that New Jersey state contractors who work “on or in connection with” New Jersey state government contracts enforce company-wide vaccination or weekly COVID-19 testing for all of their employees. This new vaccine mandate will be incorporated into new contracts and solicitations, though existing contracts will be impacted via requests for extensions or renewals. Executive Order 271 is separate and apart from the OSHA ..read more

The recent passage of the infrastructure funding seems likely to lead to a significant influx in construction projects. Given the desire to get “work out on the street,” we anticipate that many owners will be looking to use design-build as the procurement method of choice. Owners and other parties should carefully consider their decision at a project’s onset as design-build, or engineer-procure-construct (EPC), can bring unforeseen challenges from procurement onward; indeed, the more parties understand design-build’s nuances, the better prepared they will be. Many times, owners have been sold ..read more

Welcome to the DMV Construction Law Series, where each month we examine a different set of legal issues important to contractors. In our third installment, we briefly examine certain key parts of Maryland’s Mechanics’ Lien Law that contractors should be familiar with when undertaking projects in Maryland. A mechanics’ lien is an encumbrance on real property or a leasehold that acts as security for unpaid labor, material, or construction services that is typically available to contractors and subcontractors. In our second installment, we provided an in-depth overview of mechanics’ liens in DC ..read more

What Does It Mean for Utility, Heavy Highway, and Transportation Construction? Last week, President Biden enacted into law the $1 trillion bi-partisan infrastructure bill following months of congressional negotiations. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, formally titled the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, directs $550 billion in new spending on hard infrastructure, the nation’s largest such investment in decades. Spanning over a thousand pages, the legislation’s numerous programs, policy enactments, and mandates will compel the transportation and highway construction industries to ramp ..read more

Compliance Notes for Construction Professionals Amid Pending Legal Challenges Nationwide reverberations followed last week’s much-anticipated emergency temporary standard addressing COVID-19 (the ETS) from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Businesses across all industries mobilized immediately to develop and implement the required mandatory vaccination policies the new standard required, and the construction industry was no exception. However, as the construction industry settles into this new regulatory obligation, contractors’ vaccination policies need to encompass th ..read more

An emerging construction industry trend, modular construction promises improved construction quality, greater building efficiency, and reduced overall cost—all objectives high among any contractor’s project goals. Investment leader Warren Buffet’s backing of initiatives to develop modular construction software attests to this construction method’s value to the industry. However, before seeking the enhanced profitability modular construction promises, contractors should fully understand the contractual risks this novel building method entails. Unlike traditional onsite construction, modular (or ..read more

Welcome back to our DMV Construction Law Series, where we examine a different set of legal issues important to contractors each month. For our second installment, we briefly examine certain key parts of Washington, DC’s mechanics’ lien law that contractors should be familiar with when undertaking projects in Washington, DC. A mechanic’s lien is an encumbrance on real property or a leasehold that acts as security for unpaid labor, material, or construction services. Such liens typically are available to contractors on private jobs if they meet certain statutory requirements. In our first instal ..read more

Compliance Notes for Construction Professionals Amid Pending Legal Challenges Nationwide reverberations followed last week’s much-anticipated emergency temporary standard addressing COVID-19 (the ETS) from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Businesses across all industries mobilized immediately to develop and implement the required mandatory vaccination policies the new standard required, and the construction industry was no exception. However, as the construction industry settles into this new regulatory obligation, contractors’ vaccination policies need to encompass th ..read more

An emerging construction industry trend, modular construction promises improved construction quality, greater building efficiency, and reduced overall cost—all objectives high among any contractor’s project goals. Investment leader Warren Buffet’s backing of initiatives to develop modular construction software attests to this construction method’s value to the industry. However, before seeking the enhanced profitability modular construction promises, contractors should fully understand the contractual risks this novel building method entails. Unlike traditional onsite construction, modular (or ..read more

Welcome back to our DMV Construction Law Series, where we examine a different set of legal issues important to contractors each month. For our second installment, we briefly examine certain key parts of Washington, DC’s mechanics’ lien law that contractors should be familiar with when undertaking projects in Washington, DC. A mechanic’s lien is an encumbrance on real property or a leasehold that acts as security for unpaid labor, material, or construction services. Such liens typically are available to contractors on private jobs if they meet certain statutory requirements. In our first instal ..read more