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TOP TEN CONSTRUCTION CLAUSES – PART 4 THE FORCE MAJEURE CLAUSE (HURRICANE SEASON IS UPON US!) This is the fourth in a ten-part series analyzing critical construction clauses.  In this installment, the force majeure clause is examined.  The first three articles addressed: (i) Indemnification ; (ii) Mutual Waiver of Consequential Damages ; and (iii) Liquidated Damages . A. Overview  The phrase “force majeure” derives from the French for a “superior force.” A force majeure clause is a contractual provision allocating the risk if performance becomes impossible or impracticable as a result of an event or effect that the parties could not have anticipated or controlled.  Typical force majeure events include, but are not limited to, acts of nature, such as floods and hurricanes, and acts of people, such as riots, strikes, war, and acts of terror.          The force majeure clause is an important protection device for the contractor because a force majeure event t

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE GROUP HOLIDAY PAY – IS IT A RIGHT OR A PRIVILEGE?    Employees and employers alike often share the same misunderstanding that everyone is entitled by law to receive time off for nationally recognized holidays. However, the reality may surprise you: there is no federal law requiring private employers to provide time off (paid or unpaid) to employees for nationally recognized holidays or on any other days . Additionally, no federal law requires employers to pay non-exempt* employees (whether hourly or salaried) for holidays on which they are not required to work.    If an employee is required to work on a holiday, there is nothing in federal or state law mandating employers to pay extra for working on that holiday. Hours worked on holidays are treated like hours worked on any other day of the week except when a non-exempt employee works overtime hours on that holiday. In the event a non-exempt employee will be working overtime hours on a holida

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT  PRACTICE GROUP OVERTIME ALERT ! PROPOSED OVERTIME EXPANSION RULE COULD AFFECT MILLIONS    The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a proposed change to the overtime rules that would extend overtime protections to almost 5 million workers in its first year. This would increase the percentage of the nation’s salaried workforce eligible for overtime from 8 percent to 40 percent. Currently, the salary threshold for the white-collar overtime exemption is $23,660 annually ($455 per week). Under the proposed rule, the salary threshold would increase to $50,440 annually ($970 per week). The DOL intends to increase the amount annually to keep up with inflation but business leaders and HR professionals are concerned about employers’ ability to absorb such a drastic change in such a short amount of time and the impact it will have on already complicated compensation regulations. Specifically, it is believed this change will disproportionately affect non-pr