Florida Construction Law

To spread the economic benefits that construction projects generate more fairly across communities, government agencies reserve some public work for contractors owned or operated by traditionally disadvantaged groups.  Federal, state and even city and county agencies have special programs that give qualified minority- and woman-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) and other disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs), such as service-disabled veterans, a chance to bid on and win certain construction projects ranging from small to mega. That is, if they are certified. The Small Business Administration, for example, runs the  8(a) certification program , which is probably the most well-known among government contractors, but other letting agencies have renditions as well. Most certifying agencies require that a qualified business be owned by at least 51% minority or disadvantaged owners. African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific and Subcontinent A...

Submitting an invoice for completed work and then getting paid is about as straightforward as the construction business gets. Or at least it should be. Getting paid on time is the lifeblood for contractors, but many consistently make the same mistakes over and over when handling this vital process. Here are the biggest mistakes many contractors make when it comes to invoice management. Not knowing what's in the contract Reading a contract and knowing its terms are the first steps to getting invoices right. The contract contains information on which forms to use, billing and payment timelines and what information must accompany each payment request — this is important to know if you want to be able to pay bills and make payroll. "As basic as it sounds,” said Carl Oliveri, partner and construction practice leader at New York City accounting and consulting firm Grassi & Co, “that's where it all starts and stops. If you're not billing within the terms o...

In  spite of recovering major ground after the Great Recession, the construction industry is still facing troubling skilled labor shortages, with a lack of qualified candidates stepping up to take over the positions once held by industry veterans nearing retirement age. The construction industry lost 2.3 million jobs between 2006-2011, and today there are a million fewer residential construction jobs than before 2006,  according to Tradesmen International . The  Bureau of Labor Statistics  Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey shows nearly 200,000 unfilled construction industry jobs nationwide. This gap between available positions and skilled workers ready to fill them puts added pressure on developers, contractors and owners. Even in the face of a worker shortage, construction is booming. Companies are now looking to technological solutions to shore up operations, increase efficiencies and do more with less. Drones and AI The use of drone technology and...

A recent report by the Marshall Institute stated that a company will pay two to five times more for reactive maintenance than they would for proactive. In the construction industry, where deadlines are tight and reputation important, there is even more at stake if a machine breaks down. Here are the consequences of irregular machine maintenance and tips on performing it correctly.  Performing regular maintenance doesn’t only prevent surface preparation equipment from breaking down, it also maximizes its lifespan, meaning contractors don’t need to spend large amounts of money replacing them unnecessarily. It also helps prevent downtime or excessive labor on the job. If a machine is down, they have no choice but to do the work manually. A job that usually takes one piece of machinery may then require the labor of several people, which is cer tain to have a negative financial impact on the company. THINK AHEAD When a machine breaks down, the job comes to a halt. This means the c...

Labor compliance can be a sticky business. Just ask the thousands of contractors who have had to repay millions of dollars in back wages since Davis-Bacon (DBA) and its Related Acts (DBRA) went into effect decades ago. Better yet, talk to the prime contractors that had to pay for their  subcontractors ’ mistakes. Primes Acting as Mini Compliance Enforcement Agencies Let’s start with the obvious: city/county agencies and other state/local authorities have obligations to regulate certified payroll reports (CPRs) when any federal, state, local, or other agreement-specific funds are applied to projects. It’s their job, right?  They  are the ones that need to make sure every contractor is compliant. While this is true, prime/general contractors might be surprised to find that they, too, can benefit from operating much the same way: as mini compliance enforcement agencies. Why is that? Because it’s not just  their  employees’ payroll that a prime needs to w...