On September 23, 2019, the United States Court of Federal Claims issued a published decision invalidating the release of a construction claim because the Government and the contractor continued to negotiate the claim after the parties signed a release. In Meridian Engineering Company v. United…
The U.S. Department of Labor (“Department”) is clarifying and updating the regulations governing the regular rate requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). On December 12, 2019, the Department announced a Final Rule that will allow employers to more easily offer perks and benefits…
NEW THRESHOLDS IN EFFECT FOR EMPLOYEES TO BE CONSIDERED EXEMPT FROM MINIMUM WAGE AND OVERTIME REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT As of January 1, 2020, changes to overtime pay regulations under The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) went into effect for employees whose…
Once a buyer and seller have finished their preliminary discussions on the terms of a purchase and sale of a business or real property, they will usually draft and sign a Letter of Intent (LOI) which describes the basic terms of the transaction. Clients have…
This winter, construction companies are going to lose millions of dollars reacting to delays and impacts to their work caused by cold and inclement weather. But it doesn’t have to be that way for you if you know how to protect your right to compensation…
I represent a lot of subcontractors working on commercial construction projects, and more and more I have been seeing an end-of-project game where general contractors (especially the larger ones) try to solve project problems by pushing costs down onto subcontractors that have nothing to do…
When it convenes on January 8, 2020 in Annapolis, the first bills to be introduced before the General Assembly aim to complete billions of dollars of school construction projects throughout the state. House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, dubbed the “Built to Learn Act…
Under the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act (aka “Maryland’s paid sick and safe leave law”) passed on January 12, 2018, all Maryland businesses with 15 or more employees (including part-time, seasonal and temporary employees regularly working a minimum of 12 hours per week and calculated…
Under the Maryland Uniform Interstate Discovery Act (“Interstate Discovery Act”), “when it is necessary to obtain the testimony of a person who lives in Maryland, parties to litigation in a sister state have the very same rights as parties to litigation in a Maryland court.” …
Every construction project carries a risk of monetary loss. For example, a worker could be injured, the project could be delayed, or the owner could simply refuse to pay for certain project work. Any of those adverse occurrences (not to mention almost limitless others) would…