News for Construction Law

Beginning January 1, 2020, all businesses are required to submit certified payroll reports at least once a month to L&I.

On April 30, the Governor signed condo liability reform legislation, SB 5334, which is intended to revise overreaching condo warranty liability from the 1990s and allow for more new condo construction.

The Legislature just passed several measures impacting the state’s prevailing-wage program. AGC members are encouraged to become familiar with this information -- particularly the increased penalties and enforcement!

Under bill E3SHB 1257, recently passed by the Legislature, many commercial office buildings will have to take actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Funding is available to help building owners in the transition. Plus, the bill requires new buildings with parking to provide electric charging stations.

New legislation (SB 5457) in Olympia would require a general contractor to list ALL subs at the time of bid.

Substitute House Bill 1395 was added to the floor calendar on March 5 and will likely be heard very soon.

The Washington State Attorney General’s Office has agreed to look into the procurement practices of Educational Special District 112’s Construction Services Group, and to issue a non-binding opinion on whether it school districts that contract with the group must comply with Washington’s competitive procurement procedures in doing so.

Effective January 1, 2019 as part of Substitute Senate Bill 6334, an employer or other business that receives an Income Withholding Order (IWO) from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Division of Child Support (DSHS-DCS), must send payments electronically.

State lawmakers late Thursday approved a $4.3 billion construction budget and legislation to address a rural water-rights debate that had stalled the spending plan since the spring of 2017.

The Attorney General’s Office recently filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the “culverts case.”

At the request of AGC, key legislators are pursuing faster release of retainage on public works projects. House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee Chair Mike Sells and Ranking Minority Member Matt Manweller as well as Senate Commerce, Labor & Sports Committee Chair Michael Baumgartner are pressing the Department of Labor and Industries to dramatically speed-up the time it takes to release retainage.

Another court in Washington was asked to apply the Mike M. Johnson decision to a contractor’s claim for extra work. This time it was the Division III Court of Appeals in Washington.

Effective July 23, 2017, general contractors will be required to bond for a subcontractor’s portion of retainage, upon request of the subcontractor.

AGC has thrown its support behind a State Supreme Court case that could be a very significant public polity case dealing with occupational disease causation that could ultimately impact workers’ comp rates.

Priority-hire programs are sweeping through our local agencies and, while AGC of Washington has been a stalwart supporter of diversity on the jobsite, we have taken exception to the City of Seattle's approach.

AGC of America and others sent a letter urging President-elect Trump’s administration to repeal President Obama’s executive order...

Gov. Jay Inslee recently announced his revised carbon reduction rule. Ash Grove Cement and Nucor Steel are among the businesses impacted by the rule.

While employers were troubled by the National Labor Relations Board’s decision to issue a complaint against McDonald’s last year based on the alleged unfair labor relations acts of its franchisors, the Board’s pending Browning-Ferris decision represented more potential downside for the construction industry based on the Board’s potential expansion of the definition of “joint employers.”

John P. Ahlers & Lindsay Taft Ahlers & Cressman PLLCConstruction is an aggregate-dependent industry. Sand gravel and crushed rock are the raw materials (aggregates) necessary to manufacture concrete asphalt road bed and utility bedding vital to the infrastructure growth of the Puget Sound...