Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

The OFCCP’s November 2019 Updated Technical Assistance Guide: What Every Federal Construction Contractor Should Know

March 23, 2020 — Sarah K. Carpenter - Smith Currie
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued its 148-page Updated Construction Contractor Technical Assistance Guide (the “Guide”) on November 13, 2019. A complete copy of the Guide can be found here, but the below provides a summary of what every Federal Construction Contractor should know regarding the OFCCP’s November 2019 update to its prior 2006 publication. The DOL has identified the Guide as a “self-assessment tool” to assist contractors in meeting “their legal requirements and responsibilities for equal employment opportunity by preventing violations before they occur.” However, the Guide does not create or impose new requirements for Federal Construction Contractors. Instead, the Guide provides an overview of anti-discrimination and affirmative action requirements and obligations under existing laws and regulations, and suggests best practices and guidance. Specifically, the Guide provides:

A concise summary of Federal Construction Contractors’ legal obligations under the three main laws enforced by the OFCCP: Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974;
A detailed explanation of requirements for written Affirmative Action Plans;
A clear schedule of Standard Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Construction Contract Specifications;
A reorganized recap of the sixteen affirmative action steps Federal Construction Contractors are required to implement in good-faith; and
A user-friendly roadmap of what to expect during an OFCCP audit, including a discussion of record keeping requirements.

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Reprinted courtesy of Sarah K. Carpenter, Smith Currie
Ms. Carpenter may be contacted at skcarpenter@smithcurrie.com

Women Make Their Mark on Construction Leadership

April 22, 2019 — Annalisa Enrile & Oliver Ritchie - Construction Executive
In the era of the Lean In movement and the Women’s March, women are finding their voices and using them. In politics, in the classroom and even on the playing field, women’s participation and leadership are breaking records. However, this is not the case in the board room—especialy in the C-suite. The Russell 3000 Index, a market index that benchmarks the U.S. Stock Market, found that only 9 percent of top executive positions were filled by women. The construction industry reflects this low participation of female executives. Women in construction only number 9 percent across the board of the industry. Seven percent of all construction executives are women and only 3 percent of the Fortune 500 construction companies have a female construction manager. Most are in sales and office roles (about 45 percent). Russell 3000 also found that women who are in the C-suite usually fill more HR- or administrative-related positions with very few in COO or CEO positions. Women in leadership need to have real decision making power to progress further. On the upside, women in construction tend to have less of a pay gap than other industries—about 5 percent compared to 20 percent. Though she be but little, She is Fierce Despite their small numbers, women executives in construction are paving the way for others to access leadership. In 1984, 11 women created Women Construction Owners and Executives, an organization for support and professional development. Their purpose is to promote women into leadership, assist women in executive positions and encourage more women to join the industry. The National Association of Women in Construction and Women in Construction Operations are also resources and networks with thousands of members. Reprinted courtesy of Annalisa Enrile & Oliver Ritchie, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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Which Cities have the Most Affordable Homes?

October 08, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Builder analyzed U.S. cities with populations of half a million or more and then filtered further with cities that have a “median new home closing price under $250,000, a first mortgage rate below 4 percent for new homes, and a median new home price per square foot below $125.” Topping the list was El Paso, Texas with the lowest median price ($168,600). Fifth on the list was San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas with a median price of $230,400. Read the court decision
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Saudi Arabia Awards Contracts for Megacity Neom’s Worker Housing

September 16, 2019 — Vivian Nereim - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia has awarded to two Saudi firms contracts to build worker housing for its futuristic mega-city called Neom, as plans for the $500 billion project move forward despite skepticism from investors. Tamimi Group and Saudi Arabian Trading & Construction Co. won contracts to finance, build and operate three residential areas with capacity to house 30,000 people, Neom said in a statement on Sunday. The areas will be part of a so-called “Construction Village,” which Neom later plans to expand to accommodate more than 100,000 residents, it said. Neom did not say how much the contracts were worth. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Vivian Nereim, Bloomberg

Federal Government May Go to Different Green Building Standard

February 12, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The federal government has expressed a commitment to environmentally sound, or “green” building practices, but now the question becomes who decides what constitutes a green building. The U.S. General Services Administration has started a public comment period on what certification program the GSA should recommend. Currently, the GSA uses the LEED standard from the U.S. Green Building Council. Although there are three green building standards, LEED, Green Globes, and the Living Building Challenge, only the first two are being seriously considered, according to a report on TriplePundit.com. The Green Globes program from the Green Building Initiative has its detractors, as some feel that the program fails to be sufficiently environmentally sound. Green Globes was created by a former lumber industry executive, Ward Hubbell, and is more permissive about woods and plastics used in construction. Hubbell defends the program, saying that the certification program is both rigorous and transparent. The U.S. Green Building Council also has its critics, and allegation have been made that LEED costs about twice as much as Green Globes in order to enrich the executives at the U.S. Green Building Council. Further, some claim that LEED certification involves lengthy delays. One architect criticized LEED, indicating that if he has questions he would “have to wait a month for a response.” The U.S. Department of Energy seems to be favoring Green Globes, as their review found it a better choice for meeting government requirements for new buildings. Conversely, the agency preferred LEED for modifying existing buildings. Read the court decision
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Philadelphia Revises Realty Transfer Tax Treatment of Acquired Real Estate Companies

January 05, 2017 — Nancy Frantz, Kevin Koscil & James Vandermark – White and Williams LLP
On December 8, 2016, the Philadelphia City Council voted unanimously to amend the ordinance governing realty transfer taxes in an effort to increase tax revenue. The current combined realty transfer tax rate in Philadelphia is 4.0% and will increase to 4.1% after December 31, 2016.[1] The amendment significantly impacts how taxes are imposed upon transfers of ownership in so-called “real estate companies” and effectively eliminates deals commonly referred to as 89-11 transactions. The amendment mainly focuses on transfers of real estate companies, rather than direct transfers of real estate, but it also affects certain direct transfers of real estate in exchange for noncash consideration. Reprinted courtesy of White and Williams LLP Nancy Frantz, Kevin Koscil and James Vandermark Ms. Frantz may be contacted at frantzn@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Koscil may be contacted at koscilk@whiteandwilliams.com Mr. Vandermark may be contacted at vandermarkj@whiteandwilliams.com Read the court decision
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Extreme Flooding Overwhelms New York Roadways, Killing 1 Person

July 24, 2023 — Associated Press - Bloomberg
NEW YORK (AP) — Heavy rain spawned extreme flooding in New York’s Hudson Valley that killed at least one person, swamped roadways and forced road closures on Sunday night, as much of the rest of the Northeast U.S. braced Monday for potentially punishing rains. As the storm moved east, the National Weather Service extended flash flood warnings into Connecticut, including the cities of Stamford and Greenwich, before creeping into Massachusetts. Forecasters said some areas could get as much as 5 inches (12 centimeters) of rain. In New York's Hudson Valley, rescue teams found the body of a woman in her 30s who drowned after being swept away while trying to evacuate her home, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told WABC-TV. Officials were waiting for the medical examiner's office to arrive, he said. Read the court decision
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Municipal Ordinances Create Additional Opportunities for the Defense of Construction Defect Claims in Colorado

August 22, 2022 — Ricky Nolen - Colorado Construction Litigation Blog
Municipal ordinances may provide additional defenses for construction professionals where state law does not provide sufficient protection for Colorado’s builders. Colorado state law can be a minefield of potential liability for construction professionals. Even though the state legislature has stated that it must “recognize that Construction defect laws are an existing policy issue that many developers indicate adds to for-sale costs,” the legislature has remained hesitant to provide any meaningful protection from construction defect claims, resulting in almost unlimited exposure for Colorado’s construction professionals. Given this background of state laws that do not go far enough in protecting Colorado’s construction professionals, it may be fruitful to review municipal ordinances for new defenses and to temper state law developments applicable to construction defect claims. This is an area of law that is only just developing in Colorado. In fact, the ordinances discussed in this article were only passed in the last two years with many cities only adopting the present versions of the ordinances in 2021. The two model ordinances discussed below are potentially helpful in three ways. The first model ordinance gives construction professionals a right to repair defects in the multi-family construction and in the common interest community context. The second model ordinance is helpful in two ways. First, it establishes that homeowners associations may not unilaterally circumvent ADR protections included in the original declarations for such communities.[1] Second, the ordinance reduces the risk that strict liability will be imposed on a construction professional where a building code is violated. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Ricky Nolen, Higgins, Hopkins, McLain & Roswell, LLC
Mr. Nolen may be contacted at nolen@hhmrlaw.com

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