Dallas Austin

One day after he was inaugurated, President Joe Biden followed through on a campaign promise to labor unions by ordering the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to begin the process of developing COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) for employers. OSHA responded by issuing new non-binding guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. Any potential ETS that OSHA deems necessary must be adopted by March 15th. If OSHA chooses to issue ETS, the standards would take effect immediately and last no longer than six months, unless they are event

Developers, owners, designers, contractors, and every other member of the construction industry spend enormous amounts of time negotiating risk transfer mechanisms.  Endless hours and pixels are dedicated to lengthy indemnity, additional insured, and waiver of subrogation provisions.  And while those clauses are an important part of most every contract in the industry, they only go so far.  An equally important and often overlooked risk transfer mechanism is a properly drafted scope of work.  This includes not just what’s in, but also what’s out. A.    You’re either in… Scopes of

Payment – often one of the most negotiated provisions in prime contracts and subcontracts and therefore a common claim in litigation. Getting paid and paid timely is of critical significance to contractors. If a project owner does not pay its general contractor timely, it will have massive consequences to project morale and may end up creating payment claims that might substantially delay the project. If the parties cannot reach resolution and depending on the payment provisions of the prime contract or subcontract – including any withholding or offset provisions, contractors can seek reco

Several pieces of legislation were passed and signed into law at the end of 2020 as part of the second round of COVID-19 stimulus relief. One of those laws was the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA 2021) which extends some of the relief offered under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). While not as extensive as FFCRA, employers can offer some additional benefits to employees while still receiving the tax benefits allowed under FFCRA. There are limitations on time and scope that employers should study before deciding whether to offer the additional benefits allowed under CCA

The Texas Legislature convened on January 12, 2021 and will run through May 31, 2021. Below are three of the proposed legislative bills which will be of interest to contractors: Senate Bill 219 – relating to civil liability and responsibility for the consequences of defects in the plans, specification or related documents for the construction or repair of an improvement to real property. Texas is one of only two states where a contractor may bear the liability for defects in construction that are based on construction documents prepared or procured by the owner or the owner’s agent or desi

The recent case of Angela Harvey v. Olshan Foundation can be summed up as follows: 1) document everything, 2) keep that documentation, and 3) always provide those documents to your attorney. This was made abundantly clear when the Harvey Court reversed a dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims against Olshan. Angela Harvey bought a pre-owned home in 2013 with a disclosure from the prior owners that the foundation had been previously repaired. The disclosure, however, did not provide any information about who did the repairs (presumably Olshan), when the repairs were done, or the scope of the repairs

On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed the into law the “Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act.” It is better (and easier) known as the Payment Protection Plan Part 2, of simply PPP2.  The legislation was included as part of a massive 5593-page federal budget. The PPP2 opens the door for additional assistance to small businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic by appropriating more than $284 million for small business loans. The loans are available through March 31, 2021 or until the funds are exhausted. Loans made under the PPP2 will be availa