A reader has asked whether a contractor must provide notice to preserve a claim when the contractor discovers that the plans and specifications are defective. The short answer is "yes." Virtually all construction contracts require that the contractor provide written notice of a claim. The notice provisions may differ from contract to contract, and in the instance of governmental contracts may be set by the applicable regulations, e.g., Federal Acquisition Regulations, Code of Maryland Regulations. Careful attention should be paid to the applicable notice provisions. The United States District Court for the District of Maryland found that a contractor forfeited his rights to make a claim for extended general conditions when the contractor failed to follow the claim provisions contained in the contract. The contractor indicated in a letter that it was "considering making a claim." The court found that "considering" a claim and "making" a claim are two different things. Skanska v. Battelle Memorial Institute(D. Md. 2006). Consequently, it is incumbent upon a contractor to read, understand and follow the claim provisions in its contract. For any questions, please contact Matt Hjortsberg (410)583-2400 or at Hjortsberg@bowie-jensen.com
Monday, November 24, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
UPDATED - Important notice to all businesses with any offices or employees in Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 becomes effective on November 13, 2008. To be a covered employee under the Sick Leave Act, an individual must be employed by the same employer for 1 year without a break in service except for regular holiday, sick, or personal leave granted by the employer and have worked at least 1000 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the request for family or medical leave either for an employer located in the District of Columbia.
The Sick Leave Act will require employers with:
(1) 100 or more employees to provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 37 hours worked, up to a cap of seven days per calendar year;
(2) 25 to 99 employees will be required to provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 43 hours worked, up to a cap of five days per calendar year; and
(3) with fewer than 25 employees to provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 87 hours worked, up to a cap of three days per calendar year.
Here are some of the important details about the new Sick Leave Act, although you should seek specific advice for your particular company to ensure compliance with the law, and to understand some important exemptions that might apply to your business or certain employees.
- Employees can use paid sick leave for absences relating to their own physical or mental illness or injury or preventative medical care; to care for a sick child, parent, spouse, domestic partner or any other family member, and to take leave when they are a victim of of stalking, domestic violence, or sexual abuse, for the purpose of obtaining psychological or other counseling or taking legal or some other action associated with these offenses.
- Requests to use sick leave under the Sick Leave Act must be made in writing and in advance if the leave is foreseeable, but employers can request reasonable verification of the legitimacy of the request.
- Upon termination of employment, employers are not required to cash out accrued but unused sick leave.
- Employers cannot retaliate against an employee who takes leave pursuant to the new law.
- Employers will be required to conspicuously post a notice summarizing the Sick Leave Act in several languages once such a notice is prepared by the Mayor.
Again, there are important exemptions to the Sick Leave Act that might apply to your business or certain employees, such as exemptions for certain restaurant staff, independent contractors, exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and other categories of employees.
It is important to have, by November 13, completed a review of your company’s existing practices and policies that to ensure that they comply with the Sick Leave Act’s requirements, make any changes to your company’s policies (and notify employees of these changes) before the Sick Leave Act takes effect, and put into place a compliance and monitoring plan. Please contact Nicole Windsor at (410) 583-2400, or by email her at windsor@bowie-jensen.com, for this useful advice.
The Sick Leave Act will require employers with:
(1) 100 or more employees to provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 37 hours worked, up to a cap of seven days per calendar year;
(2) 25 to 99 employees will be required to provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 43 hours worked, up to a cap of five days per calendar year; and
(3) with fewer than 25 employees to provide at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 87 hours worked, up to a cap of three days per calendar year.
Here are some of the important details about the new Sick Leave Act, although you should seek specific advice for your particular company to ensure compliance with the law, and to understand some important exemptions that might apply to your business or certain employees.
- Employees can use paid sick leave for absences relating to their own physical or mental illness or injury or preventative medical care; to care for a sick child, parent, spouse, domestic partner or any other family member, and to take leave when they are a victim of of stalking, domestic violence, or sexual abuse, for the purpose of obtaining psychological or other counseling or taking legal or some other action associated with these offenses.
- Requests to use sick leave under the Sick Leave Act must be made in writing and in advance if the leave is foreseeable, but employers can request reasonable verification of the legitimacy of the request.
- Upon termination of employment, employers are not required to cash out accrued but unused sick leave.
- Employers cannot retaliate against an employee who takes leave pursuant to the new law.
- Employers will be required to conspicuously post a notice summarizing the Sick Leave Act in several languages once such a notice is prepared by the Mayor.
Again, there are important exemptions to the Sick Leave Act that might apply to your business or certain employees, such as exemptions for certain restaurant staff, independent contractors, exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and other categories of employees.
It is important to have, by November 13, completed a review of your company’s existing practices and policies that to ensure that they comply with the Sick Leave Act’s requirements, make any changes to your company’s policies (and notify employees of these changes) before the Sick Leave Act takes effect, and put into place a compliance and monitoring plan. Please contact Nicole Windsor at (410) 583-2400, or by email her at windsor@bowie-jensen.com, for this useful advice.
Maryland’s Flexible Leave Act Now in Effect
Employers should now be complying with Maryland’s new "Flexible Leave Act," which took effect October 1, 2008. The Act requires private-sector employers in Maryland with 15 or more employees and who provide their employees with paid leave, to:
(1) permit their employees to use any type of accrued paid leave (sick, vacation, personal or paid time off) to care for the illness of a child, spouse or parent; and
(2) permit their employees to elect the type of earned leave that they will use for this purpose.
The law prohibits covered employers from taking adverse employment action against an employee who uses paid leave for the illness of an immediate family member. The law does not define the term “illness” and does not include a provision which allows employers to verify the existence of the illness for which leave is being taken. As such, unless or until the statute is clarified, employers will need to interpret the term broadly or risk violating the law.
For assistance with this important policy review and change, please call Nicole Windsor at 410-583-2400, or email her at windsor@bowie-jensen.com.
(1) permit their employees to use any type of accrued paid leave (sick, vacation, personal or paid time off) to care for the illness of a child, spouse or parent; and
(2) permit their employees to elect the type of earned leave that they will use for this purpose.
The law prohibits covered employers from taking adverse employment action against an employee who uses paid leave for the illness of an immediate family member. The law does not define the term “illness” and does not include a provision which allows employers to verify the existence of the illness for which leave is being taken. As such, unless or until the statute is clarified, employers will need to interpret the term broadly or risk violating the law.
For assistance with this important policy review and change, please call Nicole Windsor at 410-583-2400, or email her at windsor@bowie-jensen.com.
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