It’s that time of year. Thanksgiving is nearly upon us and Christmas is just around the corner, which means one thing: it’s time to make sure you have earned enough CLE and PDH before it is too late. Take a break from the holiday stress and earn your remaining CLE or PDH with us. Join Tennessee Construction Lawyers Steve Barton, Jimmy Duckworth, … Read More
Back to Basics: Tennessee Lien Law
Back to Basics: Tennessee Lien Law Post 1 of 4 (Speaking the Lien Language) Arguably, the most important aspect of any construction project is not the construction itself but ensuring the contractor receives payment. If a contractor does not receive payment, the contractor may assert a mechanics’ and materialmen’s lien against the project and sell the underlying property to satisfy … Read More
New Pay Transparency Rule for Federal Contractors
Does your company have a policy that prevents your employees from discussing or disclosing their own pay or the pay of their co-workers? If you are a federal contractor or subcontractor, you better be aware of the new pay transparency rule that takes effect on January 11, 2016. This new rule comes from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs … Read More
The Gatlinburg Wastewater Treatment Plant Failure
Many people in the construction industry in Tennessee, and throughout the U.S., heard about the tragedy that occurred in April 2011 at the Gatlinburg Wastewater Treatment Plant (“Gatlinburg WWTP”) in East Tennessee. However, the way in which the failure occurred should be a clear example for designers and contractors when making changes in the field that can impact the structural integrity … Read More
Employee or Independent Contractor?
Is the person working for your business an employee or independent contractor? It is an age-old question that could be costly for your business, if not handled correctly. In July, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2015-1, which provided updated guidance on the misclassification of employees as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act … Read More
Death Knell for Local Hiring Law?
Last week, Mayor Barry delayed implementation of Nashville new local hiring law citing concerns from labor and industry groups. Following on the heels of the Mayor’s announcement, Herbert Slatery, Tennessee Attorney General, issued a formal opinion and found the local-hire amendment violated Tennessee’s contractors licensing laws. The AG determined the Tennessee Contractors Licensing Act of 1994 prohibited counties and municipalities from … Read More
Lewis Thomason Annual Construction Law Seminar
“Subcontractors: In the Legal Trenches” On Friday, October 16, 2015, the construction attorneys from the Knoxville office of Lewis Thomason will present its annual Construction Law Seminar at Fox Den Country Club. Previous seminars have centered on topics such as General Contractors and Building Information Modeling (“BIM”). But, this year’s seminar topic is “Subcontractors: In the Legal Trenches.” While the … Read More
Nashville Local Hire Law Delayed
Yesterday, new Nashville mayor Megan Barry delayed the implementation of the new local hire law. The mayor’s decision comes as a bit of a surprise following her public support of the measure during the election, despite strong opposition from former Mayor Karl Dean, contractors and trade organizations and the Chamber of Commerce. Although the new rule was set to be written … Read More
New OSHA Rule for Confined Spaces in Construction
Earlier this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) added a new rule to provide increased protections to construction workers working in confined spaces on construction projects. Confined spaces are things such as bins, pits, manholes, crawl spaces, sewers, HVAC ducts, tanks, etc. The new confined spaces standards went into effect on August 3, 2015. Although currently in effect, OSHA … Read More
Federal Bill Introduced to Address NLRB’s Recent “Joint Employer” Ruling
On September 9, Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander (R), along with 35 co-sponsors in the Senate and 25 co-sponsors in the House, filed legislation to force the NLRB to return to the decades old “joint employer” standard. The NLRB overturned the prior standard on August 27 in Browning-Ferris Industries of California. As recently discussed by LT lawyer Jason Pannu in this blog post, the … Read More