I let one of the guys use my office computer so that he could file for unemployment. Ten minutes into it he came into my office and asked if I had any idea why unemployment wanted to know what his credit rating was. …ALARM BELLS… Somehow he accidently had gotten himself on to a phishing website. […]

Question: I am making $15 per hour on the books working for XYZ Contracting. My boss proposed that he pay me as an independent contractor (sub-contractor, 1099 contractor) and he would give me a raise to $17. Should I accept his offer?  ~Ed Answer: Absolutely not! First let me explain why he wants to do […]

The New York State Department of Labor’s official “Guidelines for meal periods” publication answers the question, “How much time to do I get for lunch breaks?” The long and short for most construction related employees is: “An employee who works a shift of more than six hours, which extends over the noonday meal period, is […]

Turning Up The Heat On Wage Theft Alongside the U.S. Department of Labor, the Attorney General announced charges against Abdul Jamil Khokhar, the owner of nine Papa John’s Pizza franchises in the Bronx, and his company, BMY Foods, Inc. The defendants underpaid approximately 300 current and former employees by failing to pay minimum wage and […]

Get your hiring manager talking about what’s really going on behind the job ad, and you’ll find that the quality of the conversation shifts dramatically.

Job-seekers who use their interview air time to ask questions about the processes, the obstacles in a hiring manager’s way and the thorny problems they’ve seen before in similar situations vault themselves to a higher level of conversation than the ones who don’t.

OSHA changed the rules for residential construction workers on March 15th, 2013. No longer will they be issuing reduced fines, helpful hints, and consultations on compliance with the fall protection regulations. They are in full-enforcement mode, and you should be in full-compliance mode if you want to avoid serious penalties. Unless you are able to […]

2014 – 05/07/2014 – Watertown, NY, general construction company cited by US Labor Department’s OSHA for ‘entirely preventable’ fatal fall at Pulaski work site. SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Following the death of 23-year-old construction worker Kyle Brown, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that his employer, Watertown-based general construction contractor MTL Design […]

Schneiderman Announces Felony Guilty Pleas By Roofer Who Defrauded Capital Region Homeowners via A.G. Schneiderman Announces Felony Guilty Pleas By Roofer Who Defrauded Capital Region Homeowners | Eric T. Schneiderman. According to the article, “Decker admitted that as part of his scheme, he stole $5,000 last summer from a Malta homeowner who had hired him […]

Last week I met with an OSHA representative to discuss the upcoming enforcement of the residential fall protection rules that have been on the books since the 1990’s. As promised, he followed up with an email loaded with good information that I thought I’d pass on to our readers.   The link below will take you to […]

New York recently enacted the New York State Construction Industry Fair Play Act.   The new law, which becomes effective on October 26, 2010, provides that any person performing services for a construction contractor or subcontractor is deemed an employee unless they are a separate business entity that meets all of the following twelve criteria: […]

After April 22, 2010 the law requires a minimum on one 8-hr EPA Renovators Certification available at all times.   Those not in compliance will risk being fined.   A 4-hr re-certification class is required every five years. Who needs it?   Contractors, property owners/managers and anyone who is doing renovation work for compensaton that […]