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Construction contractors and their employees can face significant civil and criminal exposure under state and federal False Claims Acts (“FCA”), among other laws, for failing to appreciate the significance of, and nuances to, “Made in America” laws…
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This article was featured in the May 2026 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In an April 7, 2026, written memorandum for the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the Acting Atto…
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This article was featured in the April 2026 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. The Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (“Bid Unit”) closed out March with a deci…
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This article was featured in the March 2026 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. The Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (“Bid Unit”) closed out February 2026 wit…
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This article was featured in the February 2026 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In the waning weeks of 2025, a panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court issued a summary opinion addressing…
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This article was featured in the January 2026 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In December of 2025, the Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (the “Bid Unit”) i…
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This article was featured in the December 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. According to the DPU, the performance of its Pipeline Safety Division “has improved dramatically since th…
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This article was featured in the November 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In September of 2025, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that a federal grand ju…
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This article was featured in the October 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In August of 2025, the Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (the “Bid Unit”) con…
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This article was featured in the September 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In July of 2025, the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") announced that it had reached a $4 millio…
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This article was featured in the August 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In the past, the Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (“Bid Unit”) has held that …
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This article was featured in the June 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. Since taking office in January, the President’s Administration has made clear that it is committed to elimina…
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This article was featured in the May 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. More than 12 years ago, in June of 2012, a local university executed a design contract with an architect to desi…
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This article was featured in the April 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced a $4. 6 million settlement with a federa…
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This article was featured in the March 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In Massachusetts, public building construction projects under M. G. L. c. 149, construction manager at risk cons…
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This article was featured in the February 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. The IFB does not indicate whether the “Pre-Bid Walk Through” is mandatory or optional, but states tha…
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This article was featured in the January 2025 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced a settlement of alleged False Claims …
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This article was featured in the December 2024 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. The Utility Contractors’ Association of New England, Inc. (“UCANE”) and its members recognize the imp…
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This article was featured in the November 2024 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. Last September, we discussed a new Department of Labor (“DOL”) “Final Rule” relating to the Davis-B…
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This article was featured in the October 2024 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. There is no single body of law or set of laws applicable to all construction projects across the board. Dete…
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This article was featured in the September 2024 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. Last Fall, we wrote about a judgment entered against a local subcontractor arising out of its sub-subcontractor…
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This article was featured in the August 2024 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. Back in April of 2024, the Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (“Bid Unit”) issued a bid …
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Starting several years ago, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (“MassDOT”) began publishing annual updated versions of its Standard Specifications for Highways and Bridges (“Standard Specs”) on its website. See https://www. mass. gov…
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In March of 2024, the United States Department of Transportation’s (“DOT”) Federal Highway Administration (“FHWA”) announced a new proposed rule relating to Buy America requirements for manufactured products used in highway projects involving fed…
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In late February 2024, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had achieved the “Highest Number of Settlements and Judgments in History” under the federal False Claims Act. In particular, the DOJ reported recoveries in exc…
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The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced that a former project manager of a government contractor has pleaded guilty in connection with an alleged conspiracy to inflate project costs on federal government contracts. According …
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This article was featured in the February 2024 edition of the Construction Industries of Massachusetts, Inc. 's Construction Journal. Government contractors remain highly susceptible to cybersecurity attacks. In a recent press release, the United St…
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As you know, the construction industry remains a major target for OSHA inspections and enforcement. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
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In September, the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (the “AGO”) released its eighth annual “Labor Day Report” detailing the Fair Labor Division’s ongoing efforts to “protect workers . . . from exploitation” during Fiscal Year 2023.
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On August 8, 2023, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) unveiled a new “final rule” intended to “update regulations that implement” the Davis-Bacon Act and related acts “to better the needs of construction workers on federal construc…
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As you know, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (“DPU”) oversees investor-owned electric power, natural gas, and water companies in Massachusetts as well as the safety of natural gas pipelines. As the DPU continues to pursue enforcement a…
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This article was featured in the Vol. Believe it or not, it has been more than 3 years since the Commonwealth of Massachusetts declared a state of emergency in light of the onset and rise of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. As we were all grappling with t…
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In May of 2023, the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the criminal sentencing of a New Jersey contractor and its principal stemming from a fatal violation of applicable OSHA regulations. The case arose out of a constru…
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Generally speaking, bid protests challenging an awarding authority’s determination of bidder responsibility among the most difficult to win. While M. G. L. c. 30, § 39M requires an award to the “lowest responsible and eligible bidder,” the public work…
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As many of you are aware, the Federal False Claims Act (FCA) is a powerful tool that is often applied against construction contractors. Under the FCA, a person that “knowingly” presents to the government a false or fraudulent claim for payment faces li…
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) continues to aggressively enforce workplace safety standards and issue citations and penalties for alleged violations. Those in receipt of an OSHA citation have an opportunity to contest the …
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This article was featured in the April 2023 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. The Massachusetts Appeals Court closed out March of 2023 with a decision discussing a commercial general liabi…
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This article was featured in the March 2023 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. Those of you who work on private projects within the Commonwealth may be interested in a recent Massachusetts …
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This article was featured in the January 2023 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. As many of you are aware, the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) published a notice of proposed…
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This article was featured in the September 2022 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. On September 5, 2022, the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (the “AGO”) released its annual…
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This article was featured in the August 2022 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. We often write about issues of legal compliance and the Commonwealth’s aggressive enforcement of laws, incl…
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This article was featured in the July 2022 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. By: Christopher W. Morog, Alexandra A. Gordon and Robert T. As many of you are already aware, the Massachuse…
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On June 24 the Appeals Court amended a critical sentence of recent IRIV v. On June 7, 2022, the Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld a decision of the Suffolk Superior Court strictly applying the payment requisition rejection requirements of the Massachus…
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This article was featured in the June 2022 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In a recent Webinar, we discussed a broad range of compliance issues, from false claims, to DBE/MBE/WBE fraud, …
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This article was featured in the May 2022 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In a recent press release, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced that it is i…
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A version of this article was featured in the May 2022 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. By: Christopher W. Morog and Robert T. Ferguson, Jr. and Eric F. On April 21, 2022, the Massachu…
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This article was featured in the April 2022 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. As many of you are aware, MassDOT revised its guidance concerning the valuation of Chapter 90 contracts that c…
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This alert was featured in the April 2022 edition of Construction Industries of Massachusetts's Construction Journal. By: Christopher W. Morog, Robert T. Ferguson, Jr. , and Lisa A. On April 4, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“S…
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This article was featured in the March 2022 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In a recent press release, the Office of the Attorney General (AG) announced that it has cited a Massachusetts…
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This alert was featured in the March 2022 edition of Construction Industries of Massachusetts's Construction Journal. The new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the “IIJA”) is expected to create new opportunities for existing and fledgling…
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This alert was featured in the February 2022 edition of Construction Industries of Massachusetts's Construction Journal. As you know, there are various mechanisms at the federal and state levels aimed to increase the participation of various minori…
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This article was featured in the January 2022 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. In September of 2021, the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (AG) issued its sixth-annual “Labor…
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A version of this article was featured in the February 2022 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. By: Lisa A. Zaccardelli, Robert T. Ferguson, Jr. , Christopher W. Morog, Mark D. Last month, we …
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This article was featured in the December 2021 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. Supply chain and material escalation cost issues have hit the construction industry hard. Many contractors …
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This article was featured in the September 2021 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. As many of you are aware, the Massachusetts Attorney General established a “False Claims Division” in …
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Powerful compliance programs create systems that identify smaller infractions before they escalate and include ongoing education on best practices for employees. When compliance processes are working well, they touch all parts of your organization, from re…
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This article was featured in the July 2021 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. The Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (Bid Unit) and the Massachusetts Superior Cour…
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This article was featured in the April 2021 edition of the Utility Contractors Association of New England, Inc. ’s Construction Outlook. For those of you who may have missed the Webinar, we outlined important aspects of the Massachusetts Prompt Pa…
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First and foremost, we hope that you and your families remain safe and healthy during this uncertain time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (the "Bid Unit") has continued to investigate bid issu…
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More and more it seems that no Massachusetts public procurement is complete without some bid error or discrepancy. And because disappointed bidders are constantly looking for ways to invalidate a low bid, the chances are fairly high that they may spot an i…
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The Massachusetts Supreme Court issued a 29-page opinion at the end of May that will be of interest to contractor-employers working public projects in Massachusetts. The article discusses two of the various issues addressed in the court's opinion: (1) the …
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When a bid issues arises, disappointed bidders usually have few options. Sometimes, raising an issue directly with the awarding authority can lead to resolution of the issue. More often than not, bidders will have to decide whether to pursue a bid protest …
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In any given week, you could run a few searches and find recent news articles about fraudulent or criminal contractor conduct in the world of construction. For example, in April of 2019, a branch manager for an insulation contractor pleaded guilty to bid-r…
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Hear from our construction attorneys about what can be learned from the first decision of 2019 from the Bid Unit of Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, based on a case that they defended. Read more on page 21 of The Construction Outlook magazine.
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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) closed out August with a decision concerning contractor exposure to Chapter 93A claims for unfair and deceptive trade practices. A divided court concluded that a Chapter 93A claim was subject to the 6-…
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In May’s issue, we discussed a bidder responsibility decision of the Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (the “Bid Unit”). In that case, the awarding authority rejected the low bidder as allegedly “difficult to work with.
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Despite the prevalence of termination for convenience clauses in construction contracts, there has been little caselaw in Massachusetts addressing such provisions. That needle moved on May 2, 2018, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court discussed …
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The competitive bidding statute for public works projects (M. G. L. c. The AGO’s decision in In re: I. W. Harding Construction Co. , Inc. arose out of a $2. 5 Million municipal roadway improvements project. Although I. W. Harding Construction Co. , Inc. …
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In 2015, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (“MassDOT”) issued Supplemental Specifications to its Standard Specifications for Highways and Bridges. One of the changes in the Supplemental Specifications was the addition of a percentage cap t…
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An awarding authority has discretion when it comes to waiver of non-statutory bidding requirements. However, as illustrated in a recent decision of the Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (the “AGO”), that discretion does not en…
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On August 1, 2017, the Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (the “AG”) issued a first-of-its-kind decision concerning MassDOT’s use of minimum unit price requirements. The AG’s well-reasoned opinion invalidates MassDOT’s mini…
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The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) closed out February 2017 by announcing substantial False Claims Act penalties against two contractors. In addition to damages and civil penalties, the AGO barred the contractors from bidding on …
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On February 24, 2017, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) announced sweeping penalties against two contractors for violations of the Massachusetts False Claims Act. According to the AGO, a General Contractor (GC) and its subcontract…
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The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) continues to announce results of its enforcement efforts. Invariably, many of these enforcement actions involve government contractors. The following is a brief summary of recent announcements. These exam…
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You are undoubtedly familiar with various types of business email compromise scams, likely because you probably receive several a month. Many of these email scams are easily identifiable. Oftentimes, the spelling and grammar is poor, the emails are riddled…
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