By Frank Elmore on October 4, 2018

The last legislative session in South Carolina saw a change in South Carolina’s contractor licensing laws.  South Carolina has five different general contractor licensing groups.  Each license group is determinative of the dollar value of work that a general contractor could perform and each with its own net worth requirement ranging from $10,000 to $250,000…. Read more

By Frank Elmore on May 2, 2017

As of July 1, 2017, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (“SCDOT”) will impose new prompt payment requirements on its contractors. The New Requirements The new Prompt Payment Clause, which can be found in its entirety here, will require the following: The Contractor will pay its subcontractors within 7 calendar days of receiving payment from… Read more

By Kim Wooten on January 31, 2017

On January 24, 2017, U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced a bill that may signal the beginning of the end for Davis-Bacon prevailing wage provisions. The Davis-Bacon Act, applicable on federal infrastructure projects, was passed during the depression as a stopgap measure to ensure that workers on qualifying federal government projects were paid wages that… Read more

By Bryan Kelley on January 25, 2017

Contractors hoping to take advantage of incoming infrastructure spending should implement False Claims Act protections now. While promises made during a presidential campaign can’t always be taken to the bank, the construction industry is nonetheless preparing for a rise in federally-funded projects based on the Trump campaign’s promise of increased infrastructure spending.  Contractors taking on this work… Read more

By Bryan Kelley on November 23, 2016

In a prior blog post, we explored changes to overtime pay rules for hourly workers that were set to take effect on December 1, 2016.  Yesterday, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the rule. The Department of Labor promptly issued a statement expressing their displeasure… Read more

By Leslie Sullivan on October 7, 2016

South Carolina General and Mechanical licenses are classified into five respective groups.  Each group defines the contractor’s financial limitations for bidding and performing general or mechanical construction.  Effective June 3, 2016, the South Carolina Legislature has enacted changes to the financial limitations and net worth requirements for each license group.  A summary of the changes… Read more

By Andy Goldsmith, Jr. on September 26, 2016

Virtually every construction payroll is governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”) and has been since 1938.  The FLSA governs payment of a minimum wage, overtime pay for time worked over 40 hours in a workweek, restrictions on the employment of children, and recordkeeping.  This Act has been amended on many occasions and new… Read more

By Leslie Sullivan on July 21, 2016

Contractor licensing requirements vary widely from state to state and are very state specific.  In some states you have to obtain a contractor’s license before you start work.  In other states, such as South Carolina, you have to obtain a license prior to offering to do work, otherwise it is a violation of the licensing… Read more

By Bryan Kelley on July 6, 2016

Two recent decisions from the United States Supreme Court could have major implications for the construction industry.  In United States v. Texas, a divided 4-4 vote resulted in the Court’s issuance of a one-sentence opinion, in which the Court affirmed a lower court ruling that blocked an executive order which would have allowed millions of undocumented immigrants to remain in… Read more

By Bryan Kelley on May 12, 2016

Construction Dive has an interesting article up this morning regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s new rule regarding the electronic transmission of injury and illness data for all construction industry employees with 20 employees or more.  The rule goes into effect on August 10, 2016, and the data reported will be made available to… Read more