4th Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar

Posted by Jonathan Landesman on February 28, 2012

Please join us for the 4th Annual Labor & Employment Law Seminar, scheduled for March 13th in Philadelphia, March 27th in Harrisburg and April 11th in Pittsburgh.

This year’s topics will include:

Cutting-Edge Developments in Labor & Employment Law

In this fast-paced session, we will review recent developments in several areas of the law, including the most common ways employees are challenging their terminations; increased legal protection for employee social media activities; recent case law on drafting employment-related arbitration agreements; the latest on the NLRB’s “quickie” elections rule; and New Jersey’s recently enacted trade secrets statute.

Creating a “Bullet Proof” Employee Handbook

In order to minimize your exposure to employee lawsuits and comply with an ever-increasing maze of federal and state laws and regulations, employers need to make sure that their employee handbook is comprehensive and up-to-date. In this session, we’ll review the key ingredients to include in your handbook. We will also discuss those topics where “less in more” and employers should exercise restraint to avoid compliance issues.

Wage & Hour Law: A Primer on the Fair Labor Standards Act

The Fair Labor Standards Act is the federal wage and hour law which governs the payment of minimum wages and overtime. Even though this law has been around since the New Deal, many employers are still struggling with thorny issues such as classifying employees as “exempt” or “non-exempt”, and calculating overtime in light of bonuses, rest periods, telecommuting, and on-call time. Consequently, there has been an explosion of wage and hour litigation in federal and state courts – particularly with costly class action lawsuits. In this nuts-and-bolts session, we will review the law in plain English so that you can avoid getting caught in the jaws of a nasty lawsuit or Department of Labor audit.

Hot Issues In Discrimination Law

With a heavy emphasis on addressing day-to-day real life situations, we will review the hottest issues in discrimination law, including: what is your obligation to provide a religious accommodation for body art and Muslim religious practices; when will your company be liable for the discriminatory acts of a rogue supervisor; how can you improve employee attendance without violating the FMLA and ADA; best practices to avoid retaliation claims; and what is GINA and why should you care.

For additional information, or to register, please see the event invitation.

LEED-Certified Existing Buildings Surpass New Construction

Posted by Lori Wisniewski Azzara on February 17, 2012

By: Lori Wisniewski Azzara and Jennifer M. Horn

According to a recent report from the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED-certified existing buildings are outpacing their newly built counterparts for the first time. As of December 2011, the square footage of LEED-certified existing buildings surpassed LEED-certified new construction by 15 million square feet on a cumulative basis.

“The U.S. is home to more than 60 billion square feet of existing commercial buildings, and we know that most of those buildings are energy guzzlers and water sieves,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. “Greening these buildings takes hands-on work, creating precious jobs especially for construction workers. Making these existing buildings energy and water efficient has an enormous positive impact on the building’s cost of operations. And the indoor air quality improvements that go with less toxic cleaning solutions and better filtration create healthier places to live, work and learn.”

Historically, LEED-certified green projects have been overwhelmingly made up of new construction projects, both in volume and square footage. That changed in 2008 when the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (O&M) program began experiencing explosive growth. In 2009, projects certified under that program surpassed those certified under its new construction counterpart on an annual basis, a trend that continued in 2010 and 2011.

Projects worldwide are proving that green building doesn’t have to be synonymous with building new. The recently LEED Gold certified Empire State Building has predicted that its renovation efforts will reduce the building’s energy consumption by more than 38 percent, an annual savings of $4.4 million in energy costs. Similarly, the Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world, earned LEED Platinum certification after a three year long retrofit successfully enabled the skyscraper use 30 percent less energy, thereby reducing its annual utility costs by $700,000.00.

Lori Wisniewski Azzara is an associate at Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC. Ms. Azzara practices in the areas of construction and commercial litigation and has experience in contract negotiation, claims for delay and inefficiency, mechanics’ liens, and all types of contractual disputes.

Jennifer M. Horn is Senior Counsel at Cohen Seglias and a member of the Construction Group. She concentrates her practice in the areas of construction litigation and real estate.

Montgomery County, Maryland Changes Aimed at Facilitating Construction

Posted by Jason C. Tomasulo on February 09, 2012

By: Jason C. Tomasulo

Montgomery County, Maryland, recently simplified its construction permitting and inspection processes to better accommodate businesses and developers. Montgomery County consolidatedfire.jpg the inspection of fire protection systems for new building and renovation construction in the Department of Permitting Services (DPS). Previously, both DPS and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services each conducted inspections of the fire protection systems, which resulted in scheduling issues and additional costs.

Montgomery County also eliminated the requirement that inspections associated with an approved forest conservation plan be obtained prior to issuance of a building permit. The inspection is still required and implementation of the approved plan will be addressed in the field as with other approved plans.

The County is having a series of public forums to further discuss streamlining development. The first forum is scheduled for Tuesday, February 14, 2012 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Executive Office Building, Lobby Level Auditorium, 101 Monroe Street, Rockville, MD. The second forum will be on Friday, March 9, 2012 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the same location. In addition, the County also created a dedicated website to receive comments and information on streamlining the development approval process. Please refer to the "Streamlining Development" section on the website.

Jason Tomasulo is Senior Counsel at Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC. He focuses his practice on construction law and represents owners, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and sureties.

Q&A with Maryland Construction Network's Founder, Rob Bertazon

Posted by Jennifer M. Horn on February 01, 2012

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I recently had the pleasure to chat with Robert W. Bertazon, founder of Maryland Construction Network, an innovative forum for the Maryland construction industry. I asked Mr. Bertazon to comment on the genesis of the Maryland Construction Network and his hopes for its growth in the coming years.

Jennifer Horn: What is the Maryland Construction Network?

Rob Bertazon: The Maryland Construction Network is a unique construction forum designed to deliver news and educational information to contractors and other industry professionals through audio podcasts that can be accessed 24 hours a day via the internet.

Horn: Why Podcasts?

Bertazon: Contractors and construction industry professionals are often plagued with long commutes to various jobsites – it’s the nature of the beast. My podcasts are essentially pre-recorded radio-type segments that a contractor can access and repeat at any time – especially in the car. It’s a way to gain valuable information and put some of those long commuting hours to good use.

Horn: How has the Maryland Construction Industry reacted to the idea? 

Bertazon: The reaction has been resoundingly positive and continues to exceed our expectations. Contractors especially appreciate the index of topics available on our website and the ability to pick and choose which segments to download and repeat. In addition, contractors are able to comment on each segment using the Network’s Blog.

Horn: What types of programming have you featured?

Bertazon: Our podcasts, to date, have included useful news segments about upcoming and ongoing Maryland Construction Projects. We have also featured interviews with surety and legal professionals discussing particular aspects of the business. Providing practical tips to improve one’s construction business is another cornerstone of programming.

Horn: How can we tune in?

Bertazon: You can listen to the free programming by tuning in at www.mdconstructionnet.net or through iTunes. We welcome all feedback and look forward to watching the evolution of the Network in the coming years.

Robert Bertazon can be reached at 443-982-7503 or rob@mdconstuctionnet.net. For more information about the Maryland Construction Network, please visit www.mdconstructionnet.net.