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In December 2020, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) amended the small business size limit under the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program (section 1101(b) of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. 114-94, Dec. 4, 2015).  The rule, which goes into effect on January 13, 2021, increases the DBE gross receipts cap (averaged over the firm’s previous three fiscal years) to $26,290,000 for Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) related work. This inflationary-based adjustment is an increase over the prior gross receipts cap of $23,980,000 enacted in 2015. The effect of this rule, which is “not considered a significant economic impact on a substantial number of size entities”, is to allow “some small businesses to continue to participate in the DBE programs by adjusting for inflation.” This adjustment should provide relief for some DBEs that were close to exceeding the limits from 2018-2020.
Continue Reading DBE Gross Receipts Cap Adjusted for Inflation

In a recent decision likely to have a significant impact upon the way private construction projects in Massachusetts are managed, the Superior Court recently construed the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Statute in the way the Statute (Statute) was meant to be enforced, but contrary to most current construction practice.

In Tocci Building Corp. v. IRIV Partners…

Robinson+Cole has committed to the Culture of CARE, an initiative created in partnership between the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and the AGC of Washington to advance the construction industry as the industry of choice for diverse and talented workers by building inclusive work environments in construction firms nationwide.

“At Robinson+Cole we have…

Passed in 2010, the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Statute imposed specific requirements on owners, contractors and subcontractors of private projects over $3M with regard to submitting, processing and approving requests for payment and change orders.  A recent decision by the Massachusetts Superior Court entitled, Tocci v. IRIV Partners, LLC, et. al. has confirmed that…

Excerpt of a contributed article published in ISHN magazine on December 4, 2020.

When state and local governments across the country began issuing stay-at-home advisories in response to the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, many private employers directed their personnel to begin working from home to the extent possible in…

Robinson+Cole’s Construction Law Group hosted its first industry-wide, virtual roundtable on the topic of diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) on September 17, 2020. The program grew out of an earlier Roundtable conversation and focused specifically on strategies and techniques to promote diversity and inclusion in the construction industry. Recognized diversity & inclusion program leaders across the northeast area from government agencies, construction industry organizations, contractor and sub-contractor firms, suppliers, and architectural and engineering firms joined the closed-panel, working-group discussion.
Continue Reading Robinson+Cole Hosts Roundtable on Diversity & Inclusion

On July 24th, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Executive Order No. 7JJJ, which creates a rebuttable presumption that all employees who worked on site and tested positive for COVID-19 during the first three months of the pandemic contracted the disease while on the job, giving employees a presumptive claim to workers’ compensation coverage. Connecticut follows suit with states such as Arkansas and California in taking executive order action to make it easier for pandemic workers to access workers’ compensation benefits.
Continue Reading Governor Lamont Issues Executive Order Allowing Pandemic Workers Easier Access to Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Robinson+Cole’s Construction Group hosted its fourth— but first ever virtual — Construction Industry Roundtable on July 14, 2020. Representatives of major design and construction industry organizations and stakeholders in the Northeast were in attendance to discuss the state of the regional market and to look ahead for trends to watch for 2021.
Continue Reading Robinson+Cole Hosts Fourth Construction Industry Roundtable

This post was co-authored with Jonathan Schaefer, who is a member of Robinson+Cole’s Environmental, Energy + Telecommunications Group. Jon focuses his practice on environmental compliance counseling, occupational health and safety, permitting, site remediation, and litigation related to federal and state regulatory programs.
Continue Reading OSHA’s COVID-19 Guidelines for the Construction Industry are Generally Consistent with New York State’s and New York City’s Existing Guidelines

In anticipation of reopening all construction activities statewide, on May 22, 2020, Governor Cuomo announced that construction staging activities would be allowed to commence before the Regions officially reopen. On May 31, 2020, the New York Empire State Development (“ESD”) updated its Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 (“NY Guidelines”) to provide specifications regarding construction staging. With most Regions currently in Phase One or Phase Two, the staging guidance is most applicable to New York City which is currently restricted to conducting only essential construction until it is cleared for a Phase One reopening. The allowed activities include the following:
Continue Reading New York Empire State Development Issues Guidance for Construction Staging Activities