Non-compete clauses in employment contracts are subject to a wide variety of state laws that limit their effectiveness, but often leave room for reasonable restrictions when an employee leaves. A proposed new rule from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would bring uniformity to the law – by banning employers from entering into non-compete clauses
By most accounts 2022 was supposed to be a year of growth for the construction industry. Many forecasted that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act would be the primary source of that growth across health care, public safety, and generally in the public infrastructure arena. High inflation, increased energy costs, and material shortages, however, have turned
The Ohio General Assembly is considering a revision to Ohio private lien law to make it clearer when projects start and end and enable title to be clear on lien rights. Under 1311.04, a Notice of Commencement (NOC) is to be recorded before a project commences and remains in place for six years (1311.04(S)). That
In Ohio, the sale of taxable tangible personal property or services are subject to the Ohio sales tax.
Similarly, the use of taxable tangible personal property or services for which the vendor did not charge sales tax is subject to the Ohio use tax.
Ohio law requires a contractor making retail sales of tangible personal
It seems that almost every construction contract contains a clause proclaiming that “time is of the essence.” But what exactly does that clause mean? And why is it important? Or is it?
The phrase “time is of the essence” means that timely performance is an essential obligation under a contract, and thus failure to
The recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 contains several new environment-related tax credits that are of interest to individuals and small businesses. The Act also extends and modifies some preexisting credits.
Before the enactment, homeowners and business owners were allowed a personal credit for specified
Contractors learned many lessons from 2020-2022 on material/labor availability, price escalation, and contractual allocations of risk. Prudent contractors will consider this in contracts moving forward.
Long gone are the days of large projects that are simply private or public. Large projects are multi-layered when it comes to funding. Federal, state, and
There have been 22 trenching and excavation fatalities in the first six months of 2022 compared to 15 in all of 2021. Given this alarming increase, OSHA announced the launch of an “enhanced enforcement initiative” to supplement its National Emphasis Program on trenching.
As a part of its enhanced enforcement initiative, OSHA intends to perform
Supply chain interruptions are reaching critical levels and suspending work on projects. Shortages of bridge coating materials is the most recent area of concern and could be potentially catastrophic to unprepared contractors and owners. The inability to obtain materials may force painting contractors into a position where they cannot advance painting work, cannot retain painting
In March of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked to consider revisiting an August 2021 decision made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Designworks Homes, Inc. v. Columbia House of Brokers Realty, Inc., Case No. 19-3608 (8th Cir. 2021)). The Eighth Circuit decision is presented as upsetting a long held