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Big thank you to our friend Christopher Hill who operates the Construction Law Musings blog for allowing me to become his blog's first three-time Guest Post Friday writer.

This morning, Musing's published a blog post I wrote titled "A Lien By Any Other Name Can Sound Just As Sweet."  

The article provides readers with a broad overview of the lien-like remedies available to them, as they differ based upon the classes of projects. In large part, the article explains the difference between a traditional lien (filed against the property on private projects) and a "claim" type of lien (filed against a bond on a state and federal project).

Of course, this post only skims the surface, but sometimes, it's the basic information that is needed to help folks understand the details. And why is it important to understand these details? The article on Musings concludes with that answer as follows:

Regardless of what class of project you’re working on, a lien-like remedy is probably available to you in the event of non-payment. However, it’s critical to understand the different remedies available at the onset of construction, for each remedy carries different pre-lien or pre-claim requirements.

Take a look at the article by clicking him, and be sure to subscribe to Christopher's blog which posts great information relevant to those in the construction industry.

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This morning, we're introducing a new feature to the Construction Law Monitor blog.    Each week, we'll post interesting information about construction law from out there in the blogosphere, as well as some news updates from our Wolfe Law Rocks page. 

This week, we have a few articles related to the Employee Free Choice Act and potential labor law changes under President Obama that's turning out to be a hot issue in the construction biz, commentary on the new stimulus bill, and in the spirit of valentine's day, a sweet gesture by Wolfe Law Group.

• President Obama took office only a few weeks ago, but there's already an uprising about his effects on labor law....and an uprising particularly within the construction industry.   MLive.Com states that the construction industry is expected labor law changes from President Obama.   With regards to one specific change, the Associated Builders and Contractors are averring that there is "Nothing Free About the Employee Free Choice Act." 
   
• While the ABC is clearly against the EFCA, many commentators are discussing its pros and cons.  Law.Com is stating that the "Stage is Set for Legal Labor Brawl." 
   
• Scott Wolfe Jr., founding member of Wolfe Law Group, wrote a guest post for Chris Hill's Construction Law Musings, about the Employee Free Choice Act here.
   
• The Stimulus Bill is also in the news this week, and Frost Brown Todd's blog has a great post about What Contractors Need to Know about the Stimulus Bill.
   
• Shari Shapiro of the Green Building Law blog weighed in on the stimulus bill, calling it a Bandaid when a Transplant is Needed.  Chris Hill seemed to agree, calling the stimilus bill "another bandaid from Washington."
   
• And on a sweet note, for Valentine's Day, Wolfe Law Group announced that it had sent its clients a valentine.   In the spirit of Valentine's Day, the firm said thank you to its clients by granting the wish of a boy named Spencer, 8, who wanted to get out of Louisiana and "play in the snow."   The wish was granted through the Make-A-Wish foundation.

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This morning, Chris Hill graciously allowed me to publish a post on his Construction Law Musings blog about the Employee Free Choice Act. 

In the posts' explanation of the Employee Free Choice Act and how it may impact the construction industry, I quote Dave Seitter of the Midwest Construction Law Blog from a very informative post on the act:

The untold implications of eliminating the secret ballot election are many, and are derived from the protections crafted under the NLRA over the last half-century. Most importantly, employees will be denied access to the normal pre-election debate that shapes informed decision-making, and employers will lose the opportunity to present an alternative point of view.

This radical change will also erode employees' free choice. Importantly, there are currently no restrictions in the EFCA on the time period during which labor organizations can collect authorization cards. A union that collects a single card each week from a workforce totaling 200 employees could potentially acquire cards from the majority of the workforce over the course of two long years.

Read my post at Construction Law Musings by clicking here.   A big thank you to Chris Hill for giving us the opportunity to speak to his readers.

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We've written about the controversial E-Verify program scheduled on February 20, 2009, to become a mandatory component of all hires by federal contractors [see articles here and here].

In what Chris Hill has described as a possible "sudden rash of common sense," the program has been temporarily shelved by the Obama Administration. 

While a relief to federal contractors, it's not yet time for any celebrations.  The Obama Administration is only shelving the program so it has time to review it, and this is just one program of many being analyzed.

As things currently stand, unless President Bush's executive order is tossed after the review, the E-Verify requirement will go into effect on May 21, 2009. 

Aside from President Obama's review of the reg, the program faces another legal challenge over its accuracy.   The suit, captioned AFL-CIO v. Napolitano, No. 07-cv-4472CRB (N.D. Calif.), has been delayed until April 10th to allow the government additional time to reply to a motion for summary judgment.

Stay tuned..

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This is just another reminder to contractors, subcontractors and other tradesman who do dangerous business that safety should be taken seriously. One small fall can cost your project bad press, an OSHA investigation, workers compensation claims and rate increases, insurance battles, and more.

Chris Hill, a construction attorney with Durrette & Bradshaw, published an article recently on his "Construction Law Musings" blog titled: Be Ready In Case Of A Construction Disaster.

Chris' point?

"If you are unlucky enough to be an owner, architect, engineer, or contractor on a project that results in disaster, you need to get legal counsel, immediately contact your insurance company and have an independent third party evaluate the situation. For further steps, please check out this article I wrote for Business Law Bulletin of Virginia."

His article in the Business Law Bulletin of Virginia is a great resource for contractors all over the country faced with construction accidents or disasters. More resources can be found at our prior post here.

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