Good legal writing is simply good writing. Construction contracts written in legalese confuse rather than clarify performance expectations. “Gotcha clauses” buried in a contract leads parties to distrust one another. ConsensusDocs standard construction agreements are written in clear and concise language. This helps the parties understand, administer, and interpret the contract. One distinguishing feature in ConsensusDocs is the integration of the general terms and conditions into the agreement. This allows parties to complete an agreement with one document instead of two, which has many benefits.

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While traditional contracting or design-bid-build is still the most prevalent project delivery method in the United States construction market, the design-build project delivery method has risen in usage significantly over the past 20 years to become a well-established contracting vehicle by private and public owners alike for all types and sizes of construction projects. The ConsensusDocs design-build standard contract documents are some of the most used in the United States. A comparison of the ConsensusDocs design-build contracts as compared to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) can be found here.

March 15, 2022, 3:30 PM ET | 12:30 PM PT

On February 7, AGC filed comments to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regarding proposed regulations to implement legislation passed in 2020 called the Corporate Transparency Act. The legislation would require legal entities with fewer than 20 employees and less than $5 million in gross revenue to submit “beneficial ownership information” to FinCEN. Beneficial owners are defined in the statute as anyone who owns at least 25 percent of a company, or exercises “substantial control” over its operations. AGC opposed the Corporate Transparency Act when it was considered in Congress due to the potential for the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information—and any associated identity theft and/or cybercrime—and the potential for the owners of construction firms to be fined and/or imprisoned for failing to furnish this information in a timely manner.

On February 10, Senators Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) introduced AGC-supported legislation to extend the employee retention tax credit (ERTC) through the end of 2021. The Senate bill mirrors AGC-supported legislation introduced in the House of Representatives last month by Reps. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.).

On February 7, the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment released its report on encouraging the federal government to promote the value of labor unions and making government contractors’ employees aware of their rights to join a labor union. Many of the nearly 70 findings in the report are similar to policy recommendations and actions already being undertaken by the Biden Administration, such as efforts to enforce misclassification of independent contractors, preferences for government-mandated project labor agreements, local hire requirements on federal construction projects, and more.

Ends Secret Ballot in Union Organizing elections (Card Check), Forced CBA Arbitration and More