OSHA Issues Guidance on Mitigating, Preventing Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace
February 22, 2021 —
Amy R. Patton & Blake A. Dillion - Payne & FearsOn January 29, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued new employer guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. This guidance is intended to help employers and workers outside the healthcare setting to identify risks of being exposed to and of contracting COVID-19 and to determine any appropriate control measures to implement. While this guidance is largely duplicative of prior OSHA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) guidance and recommendations, it contains a few new and updated recommendations that employers should note:
Face Coverings
OSHA recognizes that face coverings, either cloth face coverings or surgical masks, are simple barriers that help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and are beneficial for the wearer as well as others. OSHA recommends that employers should provide all workers with face coverings, unless their work task requires a respirator. These face coverings should be provided at no cost and should be made of at least two layers of tightly woven breathable fabric, and should not have exhalation valves or vents. Employers should also require any other individuals at the workplace (i.e., visitors, customers, non-employees) to wear a face covering unless they are under the age of 2 or are actively consuming food or beverages on site. Wearing a face covering does not eliminate the need for physical distancing of at least six feet apart.
Employers must discuss the possibility of “reasonable accommodations” for any workers who are unable to wear or have difficulty wearing certain types of face coverings due to a disability. In workplaces with employees who are deaf or have hearing deficits, employers should consider acquiring masks with clear coverings over the mouth.
Reprinted courtesy of
Amy R. Patton, Payne & Fears and
Blake A. Dillion, Payne & Fears
Ms. Patton may be contacted at arp@paynefears.com
Mr. Dillion may be contacted at bad@paynefears.com
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Hirer Liable for Injury to Subcontractor’s Employee Due to Failure to Act, Not Just Affirmative Acts, Holds Court of Appeal
December 11, 2018 —
Garret Murai - California Construction Law BlogThe Privette doctrine, named after the court case Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689, provides that a higher-tiered party such as an owner or general contractor is not liable for injuries sustained by employees of a lower-tiered party such as a subcontractor on a construction project. There are, however, exceptions to the Privette doctrine. One of these exceptions is known as the “retained control doctrine.”
Under the retained control doctrine, a higher-tiered party cannot avoid liability under the Privette doctrine if the higher-tiered party: (1) retains control over the conditions of the work; (2) negligently exercises control over such conditions; and (3) its negligent exercise of control contributes to the injuries sustained by the employee of the lower-tiered party.
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Garret Murai, Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@wendel.com
New York Court Holds Insurer Can Recover Before Insured Is Made Whole
October 24, 2023 —
Gus Sara - The Subrogation StrategistIn State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Tamagawa, Index No. 510977/2021, 2023 N.Y. Misc. Lexis 5434, the Supreme Court of New York considered whether an insurance carrier can settle its property subrogation lawsuit with the defendant, and discontinue the lawsuit, while the carrier’s insured still had pending claims with the carrier and claims for uninsured losses against the defendant. The court held that the carrier’s claims for the amount paid are divisible and independent of the insured’s claims and that the carrier’s settlement did not affect the insured’s right to sue for any unreimbursed losses. The court’s decision reminds us that, in New York, a carrier can resolve its subrogation claim before the insured is made whole.
In June 2018, a water loss occurred in an apartment owned by Malik Graves-Pryor (Graves-Pryor). Graves-Pryor reported a claim to his property insurance carrier, State Farm Fire & Casualty Company (Carrier). Investigation into the water loss revealed that the water originated from failed plumbing pipes in another apartment unit owned by Taku Tamagawa (Tamagawa). Carrier paid its insured over $600,000 for repairs. In May 2021, Carrier filed a subrogation lawsuit against Tamagawa, alleging improper maintenance of the plumbing pipes.
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Gus Sara, White and WilliamsMr. Sara may be contacted at
sarag@whiteandwilliams.com
Google, Environmentalists and University Push Methane-Leak Detection
December 21, 2016 —
Mary B. Powers – Engineering News-RecordNational Grid, which serves New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, is set to be the second U.S. natural-gas utility to use technology advanced by Google Earth, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Colorado State University to boost large-scale methane-leak detection. It is launching a $3-billion effort to replace gas pipelines in New York. The technology uses cutting-edge spatial analytics methods and methane sensors, specially fitted to Google Street View cars, to identify leaks and accurately measure the amount of methane escaping.
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Mary B. Powers, Engineering News-RecordENR may be contacted at
ENR.com@bnpmedia.com
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (05/11/22)
May 30, 2022 —
Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law BlogThe supply of homes for sale is on the uptick, the White House releases a plan to improve the permitting process for infrastructure projects, cryptocurrency opens the door to a new class of property owners, and more.
- Though the number of active listings is still down 67% from pre-pandemic levels, the supply of homes for sale is finally showing signs of improvement. (Diana Olick, CNBC)
- Large corporations and institutional investors are flocking to buy digital real estate, with parcels being bought faster than they can be created. (Dan Patterson, CBS News)
- London-based company, Admix, has been purchasing real estate in various Metaverse platforms and leasing them to companies interested in becoming involved in the online virtual space. (Nate Berg, Fast Company)
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Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team
Taking Advantage of New Tax Credits and Prevailing Wage Bonuses Under the Inflation Reduction Act for Clean Energy Construction Projects
September 02, 2024 —
Abby Bello Salinas, Jennifer Harris & Sahara Mokhtari - ConsensusDocsIntroduction: IRA Boosts U.S. Construction Industry
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”) into law.[1] The IRA marked a legislative milestone for clean energy in the United States in part by providing funding mechanisms for clean energy infrastructure projects. This new emphasis on green projects has already created a surge of opportunities across the construction industry—the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) estimates that IRA clean energy projects will create over 1.5 million jobs over the next decade.[2]
But what can contractors do to take advantage of IRA incentives to reduce costs, build a reliable workforce, and gain a competitive advantage in the new infrastructure landscape created by the ever-increasing number of IRA-related projects? The IRS Final Rule, 89 FR 53184 (29 CFR 1), effective August 26, 2024, provides some guidance by outlining the increased credits and deductions available to taxpayers that satisfy the criteria under the IRA, such as prevailing wage and registered apprenticeship requirements.
Reprinted courtesy of
Abby Bello Salinas, Peckar & Abramson, P.C.,
Jennifer Harris, Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and Sahara Mokhtari, Georgetown Law Class of 2025
Ms. Salinas may be contacted at asalinas@pecklaw.com
Ms. Harris may be contacted at jharris@pecklaw.com
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"On Second Thought"
October 28, 2024 —
Daniel Lund III - LexologyRehearing requests are seldom granted by courts, and when they are, there’s usually something uniquely compelling in the request and the granting.
So is the case in a matter involving monies deposited in the registry of the federal court in New Orleans related to work performed on cleanup after Hurricanes Maria and Irma in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The party depositing monies – which represented subcontract sums paid to it by the general contractor – held back several hundred thousand dollars based on withholding provisions in the various contracts in play. The Court was tasked with evaluating not only a pay-when-paid provision in the subcontract of the claiming party, but also incorporation of the terms of a higher tiered contract which allowed for the withholding.
The Court initially granted summary judgment allowing the monies to be withheld. However, on request for rehearing, it was pointed up that while monies could be retained for purposes of covering attorney’s fees and costs related to litigation initiated by the plaintiff subcontractor’s vendors, there was a particular process for that withholding – and an assertion that the process was not followed.
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Daniel Lund III, PhelpsMr. Lund may be contacted at
daniel.lund@phelps.com
Design-Build Contracting: Is the Shine Off the Apple?
March 09, 2020 —
John P. Ahlers - Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLCThe design-build delivery method offers many benefits to owners. Among the cited benefits are that projects are generally completed faster, at a lower cost, by allowing innovative approaches through early and continual contractor involvement in the design process. The design contractor serves as a single point of contact responsible for both the design and construction of the project.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (“WSDOT”) utilized the design-build procurement method on the largest project ($2 billion) of its type in the state of Washington: the Highway 99 Tunnel, which was finished almost three years late after the tunnel-boring machine (“Bertha”) broke down six years ago. The sorted tale of the SR-99 Tunnel Project was the source of many of this firm’s blog articles.[1] The State of Washington staunchly maintained that the design-build contract protected its taxpayers from covering the repair costs to the tunnel-boring machine when it broke down in 2013. Bertha did not resume tunneling for almost two years, putting on hold removal of the Alaska Way viaduct and rebuilding of the Seattle Waterfront without an elevated highway.
In December 2013, the contractor for the project, Seattle Tunnel Partners (“STP”), contended that a 110-foot long 8” steel pipe which Bertha hit caused the breakdown. That pipe had been installed for groundwater testing by WSDOT in 2002 during its preliminary engineering for the viaduct replacement project. The project’s Dispute Review Board (“DRB”) composed of three tunneling experts found that the pipe constituted a “differing site condition” for which the State was responsible to disclose to contractors. The Board, whose views were non-binding, did not opine about how much damage the undisclosed pipe cost.[2] In other words, the mere fact that a differing site condition occurred did not establish that there was a causal connection between the damages which STP was seeking (in excess of $600 million) and the differing site condition (the 8” steel pipe which WSDOT lawyers at trial derisively referred to as “nothing more than a toothpick for Bertha’s massive cutter head”). STP maintained that Bertha had made steady progress except for three days immediately after hitting the pipe. It didn’t help the contractors’ case that during the discovery phase of the two-month trial, WSDOT lawyers uncovered documents showing that the contractor’s tunnel workers encountered and logged the pipe before digging began.[3]
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John P. Ahlers, Ahlers Cressman & Sleight PLLCMr. Ahlers may be contacted at
john.ahlers@acslawyers.com
