The Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) adopted an emergency rule, WAC 51-54A-3800, effective July 1, 2015, to specify requirements amending the International Fire Code dealing with marijuana processing and extraction facilities stemming from these facilities’ use of flammable and combustible liquids for the liquid extraction process. These rules, along with other…
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has identified common corrections required by electrical inspectors. It reported that out of the 185,878 inspections made for electrical contractors last year 18% required corrections and re-inspections and, in its own words, “remarkably” 20% of all electrical contractors were responsible for 80% of the…
On September 29, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued a unanimous ruling affirming the district court’s rejection of a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in which the Sierra Club argued that the federal government was obliged to conduct a…
UPDATE: OSHA has extended its temporary enforcement policy through March 8, 2016, only for employers engaged in residential construction work. OSHA had extended the temporary enforcement policy through January 8, 2016. In response to industry participants’ request for an extension of the effective date of the Confined Spaces in Construction…
Pursuant to his authority under California Government Code § 8620, Governor Brown declared a state of emergency on September 11 in Amador and Calaveras Counties, and on September 13 for Lake and Napa Counties for the wildfires that started in early September. Contractors beware that Section 7028.16 of California’s Contractors’ State…
The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) has posted notice that the new demolition contractor license requents are effective October 1, 2015. L&I has made available information on Demolition Contractor License Class A and Class B application requirements. According to its website, L&I will begin accepting license applications on September 14, 2015 and…
In late August 2015, the California Supreme Court denied Pacific Caisson & Shoring, Inc.’s (Pacific Caisson) petition for review of the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal’s decision affirming the trial court’s judgment that Pacific Caisson did not substantially comply with the requirement that a contractor be licensed while performing work requiring a…
The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) a has issued a Notice regarding new Occupational, Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10 and OSHA 30 safety training (or equivalent) requirements in effect October 1, 2015. L&I is offering Safety Training Information Sessions on the new training requirements on September 30, October 7,…
In Gongloff Contracting, L.L.C. v. L. Robert Kimball & Associates, Architects & Engineers, Inc., 2015 Pa. Super 149 (Pa. Super. Ct. July 8, 2015), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania reversed the trial court’s decision and held that a claim for negligent misrepresentation could be based on faulty design documents under…
UPDATE: CSLB Taking Steps to Implement New, Simplified Home Improvement Salespersons Registration Process (posted November 12, 2015) On September 8, 2015, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed into law Senate Bill 561 (Monning), a bill that simplifies the home improvement salespersons (HIS) registration process to a single registration even…