Latest Contractors Headlines

All the headlines from our Contractors Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Florida Appeal Courts Side with Insurers in Attorney Fees, AOB and PIP Cases

Feb 23 2022 // From attorneys’ fees to water damage to reimbursement limits in no-fault auto insurance, Florida appeals courts have sided with insurers in several cases in recent days. Here’s a look:Attorney Fees and Another...

Market Your Agency to Build a Profitable Book of Surety Bond Business

Feb 22 2022 // This post is part of a series sponsored by Old Republic Surety.Do you want to build a book of surety business at your agency, but you’re not sure how to get started? Have you been selling surety bonds, but want to...

COVID Underscores Lack of Whistleblower Protections

Feb 22 2022 // Originally posted on Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts.Inside a partially completed Amazon warehouse here, workers last summer walked on conveyor belts four stories high without safety harnesses,...

New Jersey Cites 5 Contractors for Employee Misclassification

Feb 17 2022 // The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has issued stop-work orders to five out-of-state contractors – from Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina – who misclassified workers performing...

Jersey DOL Cites 5 Southeast Contractors for Misclassifying Workers

Feb 17 2022 // Contractors based in Florida, North Carolina and Georgia have been ordered to stop work in New Jersey and now face penalties for allegedly misclassifying workers.The New Jersey Department of Labor said it had issued the...

After Months of Decline, Florida Claims Litigation Rose Sharply in January

Feb 16 2022 // Just when insurers saw signs that last year’s reform legislation may be having an impact on claims litigation, bad news appeared in the inbox Wednesday.CaseGlide, the maker of litigation management software, which...

Flint, Michigan Water Crisis Trial Will Test Contractors’ Liability

Feb 15 2022 // Jury selection starts Feb. 15 in a trial to determine if engineering contractors bear responsibility for lead-contaminated water in Flint.Veolia North America and Lockwood, Andrews & Newman, known as LAN, were not part...

Vermont Governor Vetoes Registration, Insurance Requirement for Contractors

Feb 14 2022 // Gov. Phil Scott last week vetoed a bill that proposed creating a framework for registering construction contractors, saying it would hurt small businesses.The Republican said that while he supports protecting the interests...

Florida Senate Committee Approves Actual-Cash-Value Roof Bill

Feb 2 2022 // It came later than some had expected, but Florida’s Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on Wednesday passed a much-anticipated bill that aims to close gaps left by last year’s insurance reform...

Washington Contractor Fined $248K After Worker Fell to Death from Bridge

Jan 31 2022 // A Bellingham, Washington, construction company is facing nearly $284,000 in fines for not ensuring safeguards were in place to keep workers from falling off the Beverly Railroad bridge spanning the Columbia River in...

Explosion Damages Louisiana Court’s Power Grid, Contractor Injured

Jan 27 2022 // A courthouse in north Louisiana will be closed indefinitely so that repairs can be made to the building’s main power distribution system.Crews are assessing damage to the Caddo Parish Courthouse’s power grid...

New York Contractor Underreported Payroll by 89 Workers, DA Says

Jan 20 2022 // A Congers, New York, contractor has been arrested after he was indicted on insurance fraud charges for allegedly underreporting his payroll by 89 workers.Anthony Frascone, 51, owner of Alpha-Omega, told his workers’...

Judge: Lawsuit Against Flint, Michigan Water Contractor Can Proceed

Jan 12 2022 // A judge on Jan. 10 refused to dismiss a lawsuit against an engineering company, which is accused of not doing enough to stop the flow of lead-contaminated water in Flint in 2015.Four families are suing Veolia North...

Berkley Forms Excess Liability Unit for Contractors; Names Starr’s Robinson President

Jan 7 2022 // W.R. Berkley Corp. announced the formation of Berkley Construction Solutions to provide excess liability insurance for contractors throughout the construction industry.Andrew Robinson has been named president of the new...

Philadelphia, New Jersey Contractors Face Total $537K in Penalties for Safety Hazards

Jan 4 2022 // On May 24, 2021, inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) observed roofing workers at Venue Estates at Smithville Green, a senior community housing...

Roofing Contractors Face $336K in Penalties for Safety Failures, Worker Death

Dec 30 2021 // A workplace safety investigation into the June death in Neville Island, Pennsylvania, of a 19-year-old roofing worker found two commercial contractors willfully failed to use fall protection systems that might have saved...

Contractor Dies in Fall at Illinois Caterpillar Foundry

Dec 27 2021 // A contractor working at a Caterpillar Inc. foundry in central Illinois fell to his death when he apparently stepped off a ladder at the plant, authorities said.The Peoria County coroner said Scott M. Adams, 50, of East...

Kansas Contractor Faces $223K in Penalties for Unsafe Workplace Exposures

Dec 22 2021 // A Kansas contractor faces $223,000 in penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the company exposes its workers to asbestos and other workplace hazards. The OSHA...

Two Rhode Island Contractors Face $75K in Penalties for Worksite Cave-In Risks

Dec 21 2021 // A federal inspection at a Warwick, Rhode Island, excavation found two area contractors ignoring cave-in risks and placing their workers in serious danger.On July 8, 2021, a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and...

Insurer Can Keep Using its Own Repair Contractor, Florida Appeals Court Finds

Dec 21 2021 // For the fourth time this year, a Florida appeals court has decided in favor of People’s Trust Insurance Co., requiring homeowners to let the carrier’s chosen contractor make the needed repairs.“Yes, this...