Articles Posted in Construction Generally

In Lacey Act Lessons from the Lumber Liquidators $13 Million Settlement, Pillsbury attorneys William Sullivan and Benjamin Cote explore the ramification of Lumber Liquidators’ agreement to plead guilty to five criminal charges, including one felony, stemming from its purchase and import of certain wood products through three separate Chinese suppliers. Among other things, the plea agreement marks the first criminal conviction of a major U.S. company under 2008 Lacey Act amendments that expanded the reach of the wildlife protection statute to wood products sourced from foreign countries.

Wondering if your company qualifies for a partial sales and use tax exemption on equipment purchases and leases? The California Contractors State License Board is inviting manufacturers, research & development companies, construction contractors, retailers of construction materials and everyone else to join it for a FREE webinar:  Manufacturing and Research & Development Sales Tax Exemption Webinar on Wednesday, October 21, 2015, from 11: a.m. to 12:00 p.m. PST.  It tempts everyone to consider that they may qualify for a partial sales and use tax exemption on equipment purchases and leases. To register for the webinar, go to www.boe.ca.gov/webinars or call (844) 829-8353. The CSLB is asking everyone to register by October 20, 2015.

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Some of the current Justices sitting on the U.S. Supreme Court have written that they are dissatisfied with the state of the law regarding the deference the courts must accord to a federal agency’s interpretation of its own regulations. A workplace safety case decided on October 13, 2015, by an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit may provide a vehicle for the U.S. Supreme Court to review these issues. The issue of what deference to apply in these situation arises from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Bowles, et al., v. Seminole Rock & Sand Co., 325 U.S. 410 (1945) and Auer, et al., v. Robbins, et al., 519 U.S. 452 (1997); these cases have been interpreted as granting federal agencies “substantial deference” when the courts are asked to review an agency’s interpretation of its own rules. However, the growth and reach of the federal government plainly concern some of the Justices, and if there is to be a case at hand to sort through these issues, then Perez, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor, v. Loren Cook Company may be the case to do this if the government chooses to appeal.  There appears to be a trend that courts are paying very close attention to the text of the law, and less to what the agency says the law actually means in the eyes of the agency, especially when the agency is arguing that the Congress provided the agency with boundless power and discretion.

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The California Labor Commissioner now has more power to enforce  minimum wage requirements and to collect payment for wage-related claims. California Governor Brown’s website confirmed Saturday that he has signed into law special provisions permitting the Labor Commissioner to, among other things, file a lien or levy on an employer’s property in order to assist an employee in collecting unpaid wages-related judgment. The Labor Commissioner has this power regardless of whether the judgment is entered in its favor or in favor of the employee. In addition, if a final judgment against an employer is unsatisfied, as required by the new law, the employer will not be permitted to continue to conduct business in California unless the employer has obtained a bond from a surety company and has filed a copy of that bond with the Labor Commissioner. Contractors beware, the bottom line is that you will not be able to ignore wage-related judgments without potentially significant consequences.

Additional Sources:  Senate Bill 588 (De León)

States that require a person that engages in work requiring a contractor’s or specialty contractor’s license generally include within their licensing law an express provision making it unlawful to advertise for work requiring a contractor’s license unless the person, in fact, is property licensed.  Many states’ licensing laws also require a licensed contractor to include its license number in any advertising.  Starting October 1, 2015, Section 624.720(2) of the Nevada Revised Statutes requires any person not licensed pursuant to Nevada’s contractors’ licensing law, Chapter 624 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, who advertises to perform or complete construction work or a work of improvement to affirmatively state in the advertisement that he or she is not licensed pursuant to Chapter 624.  Licensed contractors should also be careful not to advertise for work that exceeds the scope of their contractor’s or specialty contractor’s license.

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National Fire Prevention Week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  Over the course of two days, the fire reportedly killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres.  On June 1, the National Fire Protection Association announced  “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep: Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm” as the theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign.  With this theme, its goal is to better educate the public about NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code®, which requires a smoke alarm in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home (referred to as the “‘sleepy’ smoke alarm requirement”).   On October 2, President Oba proclaimed October 4 through October 10, 2015, as Fire Prevention Week.

Additional Sources:  National Fire Protection Association, About Fire Prevention Week

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 rulemaking proposals are open for public comment on the SBCC rulemaking page of their website, and comments are due by close of business on October 23, 2015.

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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 work requiring correction and re-inspection. L&I also cautioned that Section 1928.361 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW 19.28.361) makes the installer – contractor and electrician – personally responsible and liable for any injury or damage to a person or property for any defect in the electrical installation.

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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 standard published on May 4, 2015 and in effect on August 3, 2015, OSHA has confirmed that, although it will not delay the effective date it will postpone full enforcement of the new standard for 60 days from the effective date of August 3, 2015 to October 2, 2015 if the employer is “making good faith efforts to comply” with the new standard.

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