Monthly Archives: April 2012

April 25, 2012 · 6:16 AM

Bid Protests: Look Before You Leap

A $15 million school construction project is being let by a local board of education, and you really want this contract.  Your team has been working relentlessly over the past week to accurately estimate the project and provide the school board with the most competitive price possible.  You’ve sharpened your pencil, and reduced your margin to virtually nothing in the hopes of landing this project.  Time to submit your proposal, fingers crossed…

…Well, the bid opening has now come and gone, and unfortunately, it looks like the work is going to be awarded to one of your competitors.  However, you believe there was an irregularity in the bidding process, and the more you think about it, the more you want to contest what you consider to be an unjust result.   Should you sue in an attempt to stop the contract from being awarded to your competitor?

The answer to that question depends substantially on the severity of the irregularity you’re concerned about.

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April 16, 2012 · 7:24 AM

Federal Appeals Court Strictly Enforces 6-Month Statute of Limitations for Violations of OSHA’s Record-Keeping Requirements

In a decision likely to be celebrated by employers in the construction industry, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a decision on April 6, 2012 that strictly applies the six-month statute of limitations for citing an employer for record-keeping violations under the federal Occupational Safety & Health Act (the “OSH Act”).  In so holding, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the U.S. Department of Labor’s argument that an employer’s failure to record employee injuries and illnesses represented “continuing violations” of the OSH Act that, until corrected, prohibited the six-month statute of limitations from expiring.

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April 5, 2012 · 9:24 AM

Public-Private Partnerships for Financing Public Improvements — The Potential Good, Bad and Ugly

Image by digitalart via FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I commend to your reading the current issue of NC Construction News, which includes this feature article on public-private partnerships (“PPPs” or “P3s”).  As those who regularly follow this blog know, I’ve dedicated a fair amount of cyber-ink recently to the utilization of P3s in the construction of public facilities (particularly highways); after reading the linked article, my thinking on the subject has coalesced around this admittedly simplistic notion: P3s have enormous potential for good, for bad and for ugly, and it likely will be up to the General Assembly to determine which of those adjectives ultimately will apply to this unique project financing and delivery system.

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April 3, 2012 · 8:21 AM

NCDOT, CAGC and CAPA Encourage Your Participation In Highway Construction Wage Survey by April 11, 2012

Sen. James J. Davis (R-PA) and Rep. Robert L. Bacon (R-NY), co-sponsors of the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (“NCDOT”), in conjunction with Carolinas AGC (“CAGC”) and the Carolinas Asphalt Paving Association (“CAPA”), is conducting a Highway Construction Wage Survey to determine the validity of the U.S. Department of Labor’s prevailing wage determinations for North Carolina highway projects under the federal Davis-Bacon Act.

All highway contractors and subcontractors who performed construction, alteration and/or repair of roads, streets, highways, runways, taxiways, alleys, trails, paths, parking areas, bridges or other similar projects with a value greater than $2000 between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011, whether financed by federal, state, municipal and/or private funds, are encouraged to participate in the survey.

Please note that the deadline for participation in the survey is Wednesday, April 11, 2012.

Additional information about the survey can be found here.  The survey can be filled out online here.  Click “Continue reading” below for more information about the Davis-Bacon Act and the importance of your participation in the current survey.

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