Several great questions came out of MCAA’s Webinar #8: COVID-19 OSHA Enforcement Preparation, which was presented on April 17, 2020. See those questions and the answers provided by attorney and presenter Adele Abrams.
These uncertain times have forced many companies to focus internally and hunker down. But this is the perfect time to go on the offense and embrace creativity and innovation. A panel of past MSCA board members and service contractors lead an informative session on refocusing your service sales priorities and implementing unique and proactive sales strategies. As your business continues to face tension between generating sales during a period of extreme economic hardship and respecting the threats to life and livelihood that have altered consumer priorities, you now have a unique opportunity to re-educate your customers and reinvent your offerings.
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Webinar Polling Results
Sample letter for contractors to provide to building owners as they prepare to re-open their buildings.
This webinar was recorded Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
Alston & Bird have released their April 20 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.
As positive cases of COVID-19 increase around the nation there is speculation that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will increase its enforcement efforts. The agency will want to ensure that employers are making a good faith effort to help protect their workers from contracting the virus. California, which is an OSHA state-plan-state, has already started COVID-19 related enforcement actions. OSHA does not have a regulation or standard for COVID-19. However, the agency can cite and fine employers using the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970’s general duty clause, and several other generic regulations and standards. The webinar presenter is occupational safety and health attorney, and long-time MCAA friend, Adele Abrams. Adele discusses what’s anticipated, and how to prepare for it, along with the OSHA record-keeping issue involving COVID-19 cases.
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This webinar was recorded Friday, April 17, 2020.
Alston & Bird have released their April 17 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.
Congratulations to Bryce Danielson, one of the two recipients of the Alan O’Shea Memorial Scholarship. The Mechanical Contractors Association of New Jersey established the scholarships to honor the memory of Alan O’Shea, its former Executive Director, and memorialize his many contributions to the mechanical contracting industry.
Bryce is a sophomore from the University of Nebraska studying Construction Management. He joined the student chapter in his freshman year and has attended both the MCAA Annual Convention and the GreatFutures Forum.
“The amount of support that the mechanical contracting industry has for students like me is what has drawn me towards a future career in this industry,” Bryce said. “Whether it is through the local contractors, my local student chapter, or the national association, I feel as if there is always someone to help and support my future career.”
His local contractor mentor showed him a job site and explained how the process works, answering his questions along the way. The student chapter has provided internship and networking opportunities, along with the chance to learn new things through its monthly meetings. MCAA events have also provided networking opportunities, along with real-world experience through the Student Chapter Competition, and a chance to learn from world-class speakers and industry professionals.
Bryce has been interning for Ray Martin Company, an MCAA member, since May 2019. “I have been challenged with many tasks which include estimating and preparing bids, writing purchase orders and subcontracts, and helping with project management duties. They gave me opportunities that no other company would give a first-year intern.”
“I look forward to putting everything I have learned in college to work,” Bryce said, adding that “It’s one thing to learn about managing a large-scale project and another to actually do it. This is what I enjoy the most about mechanical contracting because almost every day is different. There is always a new problem that needs to be solved or a new project that is different than the last. I enjoy these because you always have to be quick on your feet and think of innovative ways to solve these problems to ensure the overall success of your project.
“Without my MCAA student chapter and the MCA of Omaha, I would have never been able to make the connection with Ray Martin Co. and obtain an internship that I am still doing today. Finally, MCA-Omaha has also supported me financially through different scholarships. This is a big deal to me because it allows me to stay focused on school and reassures me that the local mechanical contractors support me and all the members of our chapter.”
MCAA and the John R. Gentille Foundation congratulate Bryce on this distinguished scholarship and thank the MCA of Omaha, Inc. for its commitment to supporting younger students keeping them invested in the mechanical contracting industry.
Panelists Paul Stynchcomb, CCM, PSP, CFCC, of The Ibbs Consulting Group, Professor William Ibbs, Ph.D. of The Ibbs Consulting Group and Douglas L. Patin, a partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, a national construction law firm that serves mechanical trades, discuss ways to maneuver through contract clauses and analyses of various impacts that may arise due to COVID-19. The panel discusses pandemic-related subjects of contractual rights and remedies, force majeure clauses, proper and timely notice, applicable case law, impacts to the procurement chain, schedule impact analyses and potential adverse effects of the pandemic on labor productivity caused by crew disruption, absenteeism, materials and equipment unavailability and other potential effects of the pandemic.
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This webinar was recorded Wednesday, April 15, 2020.
Alston & Bird have released their April 15 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.
A panel of leading contractors discuss important strategies to help companies deal with the current coronavirus situation. Panelists will discuss the role of HVACR/plumbing companies as essential services, crucial safety issues, impact on customers, the financial realities and a number of technical recommendations for mechanical/plumbing systems.
This webinar was recorded Friday, April 10, 2020.
Alston & Bird have released their April 13 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released enforcement guidance for recording cases of COVID-19. Until further notice, OSHA will not enforce its record-keeping requirements to require employers to make work-relatedness determinations for COVID-19 cases, except where: (1) There is objective evidence that a COVID-19 case may be work-related; and (2) The evidence was reasonably available to the employer.
In a video message, UA General President Mark McManus and MCAA President Brian Helm discuss how cooperation, communication and common sense are fueling joint efforts to adapt to new working conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two organizations are working together and innovating to address changing conditions while at the same time protecting our workforce and our industry’s future.
Alston & Bird have released their April 10 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.
The Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, intends to provide timely additional guidance to address borrower and lender questions concerning the implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), established by section 1102 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act or the Act). Borrowers and lenders may rely on the guidance provided in this document as SBA’s interpretation of the CARES Act and of the Paycheck Protection Program Interim Final Rule (“PPP Interim Final Rule”). Published on April 6, 2020.
The Colorado Association of Mechanical and Plumbing Contractors has shared their Paid Leave Eligibility chart with MCAA’s members to help determine an employee’s paid sick leave, paid family medical leave and unemployment insurance eligibility. This chart has been reviewed by CAMPC’s legal team.
On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued temporary regulations implementing the paid leave requirements under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The DOL has also been adding new guidance to its more informal Questions & Answers webpage. Alston & Bird has been monitoring the DOL webpage, and shared their Updated FAQs for Employers Regulated by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Alston & Bird have released their April 8 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.
Alston & Bird have released their April 6 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released guidance to its regional administrators outlining enforcement discretion to permit the use of filtering facepiece respirators and air-purifying elastomeric respirators that are certified under certain standards of other countries or jurisdictions. The guidelines also address enforcement discretion to permit use when the equipment was previously certified under the standards of other countries or jurisdictions, but are beyond their manufacturer’s recommended shelf life. Essentially, OSHA compliance officers are being directed to verify that employers are:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released guidelines to help combat supply shortages of disposable N95 filtering face piece respirators. The agency’s guidelines address alternatives to N95s, and extended use and reuse of the respirators. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is the research arm of OSHA, also released N95 guidelines addressing extended use and reuse of the respirators, specifically for healthcare settings. The CDC/NIOSH guidelines are much more detailed than OSHA’s guidelines. Their recommendations are intended for use by professionals who manage respiratory protection programs in healthcare institutions to protect health care workers from job-related risks of exposure to infectious respiratory illnesses. However, the guidelines provide excellent information for anyone considering extended use or reuse of N95s. For example, the guidelines make the case that extended use is preferred over reuse of the respirators because extended use limits the number of times the respirators will be touched. The guidelines address the risks of extended use and reuse, and provide independent sets of recommendations for extended use, and reuse.
