CHANGING LEGAL LANDSCAPE


LAC Keeping Up with Changing Legal Landscape


BY JOHN CARPENTER AGC OF CALIFORNIA LEGAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIR


I


t doesn’t quite feel like spring as I look out and see snow on moun- tains, as this edition of California


Constructor was going to print. Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz mountains was closed, and people were parked on the side of the highway with their kids having snowball fights and building snowmen. I don’t know about you, but I liken this year to the bear that comes out of its den after a long hibernation and takes that first sniff and looks around to see what has changed. “Te pandemic” and contractors hunkering down to survive is feeling a little more like the past, and things are waking up. Regulators are returning to the field and becoming more hands-on. Cal/OSHA has added the COVID-19 Prevention Plan, or “CPP,” to the Injury Prevention Plan as a base document contractors will submit as part of any investigation or audit. Contractors need to ensure they have the most updated version or face penalties.


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CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR MAY/JUNE 2023


As of last count, the state has changed the language requirements for what must be in the CPP at least four times since the requirement was issued. AGC of California has an easy-to-use template available and other up to date materials on its website that were prepared by your Legal Advisory Committee (LAC) members (https://www.agc-ca.org/ resources/advocacy/legal-resources/). Tis is “low-hanging fruit” for any reg- ulatory inspection. Speaking of which, not long ago the


Department of Industrial Relations Labor Enforcement Task Force (including teams from Cal/OSHA, Contractor’s License Board, Labor Standard Enforcement and others) announced they would begin inspecting projects to ensure employers are providing workers’ compensation in- surance, following prevailing wage laws, skilled and trained workforce require- ments, and apprenticeship standards.


Helping Contractors Navigate Unexpected Hurdles Te AGC of California LAC is supporting members in compliance with all these important requirements, and also keeping up with the changing legal landscape, with just two examples outlined below. For one, the City of Oakland declared


a state of emergency in February because of a ransomware attack by a group called “PLAY” that resulted in a shutdown of city computer systems. Tis not only impacted payments to contractors, but also process- ing and close-out of city permits, some of which were tied to project financing and completion. Contractors have plenty of questions about this shutdown, and the LAC is working with members to address this topic, and more. Almost exactly a month after the City of Oakland “closed,” Silicon Valley Bank was shuttered by the state. Tis happened to also be the exact date that $52 million


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