With the Obama administration’s recent surprise delay regarding the enforcement of the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act, our colleagues at Employee Benefits Law Report have posted a summary. Given the impact to many businesses, regardless of industry, we wanted to take a moment and share the post with you.   

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Many employers who infrequently deal with Ohio prevailing wage requirements often ask us how to determine whether Ohio’s prevailing wage will apply to their project. The most practical consideration is to determine whether prevailing wages apply to your project before bidding for work or seeking bids for subcontractors. Oftentimes companies who aren’t thinking about prevailing wages on the front end can have it unexpectedly derail their project budget and/or cause disputes with its subcontractors over the appropriate wages to be paid.

Consistent with this, we thought it helpful to list a few things for employers to think about when they are considering this question.

1. “Public Improvement”
Determine whether your project meets the definition of “public improvement” under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4115. This includes “all buildings, roads, streets, alleys, sewers, ditches, sewage disposal plants, water works, and all other structures or works” constructed by a public authority or pursuant to a contract with a public authority, such as the state of Ohio, a county, or other political subdivision.
Continue Reading The Basics of Ohio Prevailing Wage Law

Anyone familiar with the construction industry is aware that contractors and suppliers can protect their right to obtain payment on the project by filing a mechanics’ lien on the property.  Those same protections are also available for companies working on the construction of oil and gas wells and pipelines.  However, oil and gas projects are treated differently than other construction projects under Ohio’s mechanics’ lien statute, and there are several traps for the unwary.  This post sets out the basic guidelines for preserving lien rights on oil and gas well and pipeline projects – with a particular emphasis on how the procedures differ from those on other construction projects.  This post also explains how an owner of an oil and gas project can protect itself from “hidden liens” and the risk of double payment.

 What is Covered?


Continue Reading Protecting (or Defeating) Mechanics’ Liens on Oil and Gas Projects