Best Read Contractors Headlines

Headlines from our Contractors Topic Page with the most time spent reading.

#1 Lawsuit Blames Negligence by Plant Owner, HVAC Contractors for Cannabis Worker’s Asthma Death

Nov 29 2023 // A lawsuit has been filed over what has been identified as the cannabis industry’s first asthma workplace death.The mother of a worker who died from an asthma attack at a Massachusetts cannabis processing plant in...

#2 Florida Authorities Charge 4 in Fraudulent Roof Claims, Issue Warrant for Contractor

Dec 4 2023 // Florida authorities have announced the arrest of four people in connection with an alleged scheme to deliberately damage roofs in order to qualify them for insurance claims. And another contractor well known to insurers...

#3 Wisconsin Roofing Contractor Faces $180K in Fines For Repeated Safety Violations

Nov 29 2023 // After an Overhead Solutions LLC manager attended an on-site training discussion on fall hazards on May 25, 2023, federal workplace safety inspectors observed the company’s employees working about 30 feet above ground...

#4 Jury Weighing Military Contractor’s Claim of Immunity for Abu Ghraib Abuse

Apr 24 2024 // A lawyer for the military contractor being sued by three survivors of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq told jurors Monday that the plaintiffs are suing the wrong people.“If you believe they were abused …...

#5 California Court to Weigh Fate of Law Treating App-Based Drivers as Contractors

May 21 2024 // California’s top state court on Tuesday will consider a labor union’s challenge to a ballot measure allowing app-based services such as Uber and Lyft to classify drivers in the state as independent contractors...

#6 Louisiana Contractor Charged for Allegedly Damaging Homeowners’ Roof

Oct 11 2024 // On an early August morning, a roofing contractor arrived at a Lafayette, Louisiana couple’s house and requested permission to inspect the home’s roof. The roofer’s arrival wasn’t unexpected.The...

#7 Added Protection or Opportunity Lost? New Independent Contractor Rule Issued

Jan 10 2024 // The U.S. Department of Labor on Jan. 9 issued a final rule, more than a year in the making, on the definition of an independent contractor.First proposed in October 2022, the rule provides guidance to employers in...

#8 Contractors Can’t Advertise ‘Insurance Negotiating’ Skills, Texas Supreme Court Says

Jun 11 2024 // A contractor cannot be the public adjuster on a claim and cannot advertise itself as an insurance claims negotiator if it does not hold an adjusters’ license, the Texas Supreme Court decided in a case that could give...

#9 California Labor Commissioner Fines Contractor $1.1M for 74 Workers

Dec 14 2023 // The California Labor Commissioner’s Office collected $1.1 million in wages and penalties resulting from a prevailing wage assessment against general contractor Stronghold Engineering and its subcontractor, Perry...

#10 Insurer, Contractors Allege Staged Injury Claims Scheme Under New York Scaffold Law

Nov 19 2024 // A construction industry captive insurer along with three construction contractors have filed a lawsuit alleging a massive New York fraud scheme involving staged workplace accidents and bogus workers’ compensation and...

#11 Minnesota Construction Contractor Faces $1.8 Million in OSHA Penalties

Dec 18 2023 // Despite signing a 2021 settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor that included a promise to protect its employees from potentially deadly trenching and excavation hazards, a Minnesota construction contractor...

#12 SEC Bribery Unit Probes Technology Companies’ Use of Contractors

Apr 4 2024 // The US Securities and Exchange Commission is asking publicly traded tech companies about their relationships with distributors and other business partners outside the US in a push to root out possible corruption, according...

#13 New Contractor Rule to Be Unveiled Soon That Could Upend Gig Economy

Jan 9 2024 // The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden will release a final rule as soon as this week that will make it more difficult for companies to treat workers as independent contractors rather than employees that typically...

#14 Worker Loses Legs to Trenching Machine; $150K Fine for Washington Contractor

Jan 26 2024 // A 16-year-old boy was using a walk-behind trencher on a job site in La Center, Washington to dig a channel for fence posts over the summer when he was dragged underneath the blade, causing injuries so severe that he lost...

#15 New Hampshire Roofing Contractor Lied to Beat OSHA Penalties, Judge Says

Dec 5 2023 // A New Hampshire contractor has been accused of lying and being evasive in an attempt to avoid responsibility for safety hazards for roofers at his worksite.A federal administrative law judge has determined that Barry...

#16 Judge Orders Retrial of Civil Case Against Contractor Accused of Abuse at Abu Ghraib

Jun 17 2024 // A judge on Friday ordered a retrial over allegations that a Virginia-based military contractor contributed to the abuse and torture of detainees at Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison two decades ago.A civil trial...

#17 3 Key Trends Impacting Construction Contractor Liability in 2024

Mar 7 2024 // This post is part of a series sponsored by IAT Insurance Group. The construction industry faces a new set of challenges each year, and 2024 is no exception. Although 2023 saw a 19.7% surge[1] in spending for nonresidential...

#18 Washington Marble Contractor Fined $300K for Exposing Workers to Silica Dust

Sep 2 2024 // A Skagit County was fined nearly $330,000 for exposing workers to crystalline silica dust from cutting, grinding and polishing stone countertops.The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries cited and fined A+...

#19 Washington Contractor, Grower Face $650K in Fines After Worker Dies in Apple Storage Room

May 17 2024 // Two Washington companies face a combined $650,000 in fines for violations in connection with a worker who died from asphyxiation after entering an apple storage facility where the oxygen had been removed from the air.The...

#20 Retrial Begins in Civil Suit Against Contractor Accused in Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal

Nov 1 2024 // A military contractor accused of contributing to the abuse of detainees at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison two decades ago is again on trial in a federal courtroom after a long-awaited civil case earlier this year ended...