In recent years, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has focused its attention on construction companies and other businesses that rely heavily on foreign workers. And the agency isn’t just targeting companies that employ workers who are in the country illegally. It’s also penalizing businesses that fail to satisfy their employee verification paperwork [...]
You’ve got a fence around the jobsite. Your heavy equipment is turned off and the keys stored securely. Your materials are tied down and, where possible, kept out of sight. But what about your financial assets? Are you protecting those as carefully as your physical assets? Many contractors worry so much about petty theft or [...]
Technological innovations and other recent developments are rapidly altering the job of the estimator in construction. Estimators are taking on a more collaborative, value-added role — enabling them to have a significant impact on project costs, quality and risk management. Let’s look at some of the most important changes. Better Software The latest software products [...]
It’s been eight years since the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) first proposed an overhaul of its revenue recognition standard and four years since it issued the new standard. Now the standard’s effective date is finally approaching — Jan. 1, 2019, for calendar-year nonpublic companies that comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Is your company [...]
Construction is a highly competitive industry in the private sector. But when it comes to public projects, winning a job can be even more cutthroat. That’s because government jobs are often subject to prevailing wage laws, such as the federal Davis-Bacon Act or the “little Davis-Bacon acts” that have been adopted in many states. Government [...]
Construction subcontracts often contain “additional insured” provisions. This legal language requires a subcontractor to name the owner, general contractor (GC) and higher-tier subcontractors (if applicable) as additional insureds under the subcontractor’s commercial general liability (CGL) policy. These provisions are designed to protect the other parties from liability in connection with the subcontractor’s activities on the project. But the existence of such a provision is no [...]
Most construction company owners want to retire someday, and just about every contractor is looking for ways to improve employee engagement and retention. One ambitious and somewhat complex way to do it all is by offering an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Establish a Trust An ESOP is a type of employee benefit plan, similar [...]
Traditionally, a contractor’s role is to build — that is, to implement a design created by an architect or other design professional. But given the vagaries of the industry, it’s not unusual for plans and specifications to be incomplete when construction begins. Contractors asked to help fill in these design gaps should proceed with caution. [...]
The passage of a new tax law in December was intriguing news for most construction company owners. Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a look at some of the highlights of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Tax Rates Reduced Most construction companies will see their tax rates go down in 2018. [...]
The construction contract documents published by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) are among the most commonly used forms on both commercial and residential projects in the United States. Although parties are free to modify these forms to suit their needs, it’s important to understand what the standard documents contain in order to negotiate appropriate [...]
