Cokinos | Young Principal Stephanie O’Rourke has been selected to serve as a Fellow with the American College of Construction Lawyers. The ACCL is the preeminent national construction law organization. Fellowship in the College is invitation-only and offered to those who are found to have mastered the practice or teaching of construction law and dispute resolution in the complex technical and legal fields shaping to the built environment, whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, scholarship, professionalism, and collegiality, and who have demonstrated a commitment to “give back” to the construction industry. The College includes lawyers from the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and France. Stephanie is the first attorney invited to join this organization from San Antonio.
“We are thrilled that Stephanie has been invited to join this prestigious organization,” said Principal and CEO Gregory Cokinos. “Her unwavering commitment to the construction industry, expertise, high ethical standards, professionalism, and collegiality will be invaluable to the College’s mission and noble efforts to improve and enhance the practice and understanding of construction law.”
Stephanie is a member of the firm’s litigation practice group in our San Antonio office. Her practice focuses primarily on the representation of general contractors in construction contract negotiations, construction disputes, and complex business disputes. With a history of favorable verdicts and settlements, Stephanie has been recognized as a leading construction lawyer by numerous publications and organizations, including the highly regarded Chambers USA and Best Lawyers in America.
Stephanie will be formally inducted into the American College of Construction Lawyers during its February 2024 meeting in Carlsbad, California.
Cokinos | Young has led Texas construction and real estate law for over three decades. And today, our 100+ dedicated professionals operate coast to coast and proudly handle all aspects of construction law for owner/developers, project managers, general contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, sureties, and lenders. We provide both dispute resolution and transactional services to clients through all phases of commercial, industrial, pipeline, offshore, civil, and residential construction. Our reputation was built on relentless commitment to client service and the industries we serve, and that remains our primary driver. Dedicated. Resilient. Expertise. That’s Cokinos | Young. Learn more at cokinoslaw.com.
The DOL is making good on the Biden Administration’s promise of more audits and site visits throughout certain targeted industries, including construction. This week, a Cokinos | Young general contractor client got visited unannounced by two DOL Investigators. Although the general contractor had done nothing wrong according to the Investigators, they asked to speak with workers of multiple subs at the site. The DOL was on site for half an hour questioning around 8-10 sub employees. The DOL asked questions such as:
Are you being paid minimum wage?
Is anyone under the age of 14 working here?
Are you getting paid time-and-a-half for working over 40 hours in a week?
The investigators did not ask to see any jobsite postings or documentation. Cokinos | Young is advising all general contractors to implement a standard policy for site managers on how to handle such DOL audits and to also implement training about such situations. It is imperative to be proactive so your team is well equipped to handle random visits from the DOL.
If you need assistance in preparing your jobsite, the Cokinos | Young Labor and Employment Team is ready to assist. Contact our office at 713-535-5500 or by filling out the form below.
Shannon Gatlin, Board Certified Labor & Employment Attorney in Cokinos | Young’s Houston office, recently wrote the following article for Construction News magazine discussing important employment law updates [NOTE: Since the below article was originally published, a Travis County District Court ruled Texas House Bill 2127 to be unconstitutional but did not bar the law from taking effect on September 1; the State of Texas has appealed the District Court’s ruling]:
A lot has changed since the beginning of the year—and the employment law sphere is no exception. One article is hardly enough to cover all that is new in employment law, but here are a few highlights that your company may want to take note of.
Two new federal laws have taken effect within the past year, imposing obligations on employers with employees who are pregnant or who have the need to express breast milk for a newborn child. The first of these is the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act, which took effect December 29, 2022. Much of what the PUMP Act requires will already be familiar to employers, because the primary goal of the PUMP Act is to extend the break time and private pumping location requirements for non-exempt employees under the Affordable Care Act to now cover all employees of companies covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, including exempt employees. The U.S. Department of Labor has an updated required poster on its website, as well as useful information about the PUMP Act.
The second of these federal laws, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which took effect on June 27, 2023, allows individuals to file charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under the PWFA. Employers are obligated to post notice of this law as well. The EEOC’s website has the required poster and helpful information on employer compliance with the PWFA, with updates to this information expected over the coming months. Some of the biggest changes the PWFA makes to existing protections for pregnant workers include: (1) a medical condition does not need to meet the definition of “disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act for PWFA protection; (2) an individual is no longer required to show that accommodations are being provided to a non-pregnant “comparator”; (3) employers may be required to alter a job’s “essential functions” as a reasonable accommodation for temporary, short-term inability to perform such a function if the PWFA applies; and (4) an employer cannot impose leave as a reasonable accommodation without first considering other options with the individual.
New Developments in Form I-9 Use
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been promising to update the I-9 process for employers for quite some time now, and it appears the agency is ready to make good on that promise. First, the agency—through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—has issued a shorter and more streamlined Form I-9. The new form became available for downloading on August 1, 2023, and will be mandatory for employers to use starting on November 1, 2023, at which point employers using the previous Form I-9 will be subject to penalties. There are several improvements in the new Form I-9—but one in particular is meant to satisfy employer requests that only grew louder during the widespread adoption of remote hiring: a checkbox indicating that the employer used a DHS-authorized alternative procedure to examine the employee’s supporting documents.
Companies had hoped DHS might permanently allow its temporary COVID-19 flexibility of remote document examination—DHS is granting that wish, at least for some. DHS issued a final rule permitting alternative document examination procedures (including remote examination) under an approved framework from the agency. While this could pave the way for all employers to eventually use remote document examination, for now DHS is limiting the use of remote examination to employers that use the federal E-Verify system and are in good standing. Among the requirements for those employers who meet this eligibility threshold, they must (1) conduct a live video interview with the employee, (2) retain copies of all documents presented in the I-9 verification process, and (3) create E-Verify cases for new employees. While this DHS rule may not go as far as many had hoped, it is an encouraging step toward more widespread remote document verification.
Texas House Bill 2127: “Death Star” Bill
Finally, an important development in state law could provide consistency in regulations applicable to construction companies operating throughout Texas. Unless paused by the courts, Texas House Bill 2127 (HB 2127)—commonly referred to as the “Death Star” bill—becomes law on September 1, 2023. In a nutshell, HB 2127 bars local governments from passing ordinances that go beyond state law in such areas as labor, agriculture, natural resources, and finance. HB 2127 would also strike down any such ordinances already in existence. For example, local mandates requiring water or rest breaks for workers and local “wage theft” ordinances—like Austin’s that went into effect within the past year and specifically targets the construction industry—are nullified under HB 2127.
Again, whether HB 2127 will withstand legal challenges has yet to be seen. The cities of Houston (July 3, 2023) and San Antonio (July 24, 2023) have already sued the state looking to have HB 2127 declared unconstitutional, void, and unenforceable. The ultimate fate of HB 2127 remains uncertain, and this legal battle warrants watching closely.
Conclusion
A lot has happened in employment law since the January issue, so now is the time to catch up with your employment counsel to ensure that your company stays on the right side of the above items and anything else that may have been overlooked.
About the Author:J. Shannon Gatlin is Senior Counsel in the Houston office of Cokinos | Young, is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and leads the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group. Mr. Gatlin can be reached at (713) 535-5504 or sgatlin@cokinoslaw.com. For more information about Cokinos | Young and to speak with an Employment Attorney, contact our office at 713-535-5500.
About Cokinos | Young
Cokinos | Young has led Texas construction and real estate law for over three decades. And today, our 100+ dedicated professionals operate coast to coast and proudly handle all aspects of construction law for owner/developers, project managers, general contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, sureties, and lenders. We provide both dispute resolution and transactional services to clients through all phases of commercial, industrial, pipeline, offshore, civil, and residential construction. Our reputation was built on relentless commitment to client service and the industries we serve, and that remains our primary driver. Dedicated. Resilient. Expertise. That’sCokinos | Young. Learn more at cokinoslaw.com.
Cokinos | Young is pleased to announce that the prestigious American Academy of Appellate Lawyers has invited Principal Dana Livingston to become a Fellow in the Academy.
The American Academy of Appellate Lawyers was founded in 1990 to recognize outstanding appellate lawyers across the United States and promotes the improvement of appellate advocacy and the administration of the appellate courts. Academy membership is open only to a person who possesses a reputation of recognized distinction as an appellate lawyer. Academy membership is limited to 500 members in the United States.
Membership in the Academy is by invitation only. Candidates for membership must be nominated and seconded by current Academy Fellows. Nominees are then evaluated by a thorough vetting process undertaken by judges, co-counsel, opposing counsel, fellows, and the Academy’s board of directors.
Dana will be inducted into the Academy during a ceremony at the Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee this October.
Cokinos | Young has led Texas construction and real estate law for over three decades. And today, our 100+ dedicated professionals operate coast to coast and proudly handle all aspects of construction law for owner/developers, project managers, general contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, sureties, and lenders. We provide both dispute resolution and transactional services to clients through all phases of commercial, industrial, pipeline, offshore, civil, and residential construction. Our reputation was built on relentless commitment to client service and the industries we serve, and that remains our primary driver. Dedicated. Resilient. Expertise. That’s Cokinos | Young. Learn more at cokinoslaw.com.
We proudly congratulate our own, Stan Curry (San Antonio Principal) for being honored as a new inductee to the Baylor University Athletics 2023 Hall of Fame class that includes eight former student-athletes from six different sports.
Stan Curry Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame 2023
A two-time Southwest Conference champion in the high jump, Stan broke a conference record that had stood for 12 years with his winning mark of 6-11 ½ at the 1968 outdoor meet. With that career-best mark, he is still 10th on Baylor’s all-time performers list, just behind 2022 Hall of Famer Gary Kafer (7-0).
Clearing 6-10 or better 20 times, including four of 6-11 or higher, Stan also won the Drake Relays high jump title in 1968 and Texas Relays in 1969. He won the U.S. Track & Field Federation Championship in 1968 and competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials that year in Lake Tahoe. Noteworthy, and unfortunately for Stan and the other high jump competitors that year, a guy named Dick Fosbury showed up to the Olympic Trials with a new jumping style tagged the “Fosbury Flop” that dominated the field and kept our man Stan out of the 1968 Olympics.
Organized in 1960, the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame recognizes and honors individuals whose participation and contributions have enriched and strengthened the university’s athletics program. Student-athletes are required to wait 10 years after completing their eligibility before they can be nominated for the Hall of Fame.
Beginning with the inaugural 1960 class that included coach Floyd Crow and baseball’s Ted Lyons, 265 honorees have been elected or already enshrined in the Hall of Fame, while Chandler becomes the 32nd addition to the Wall of Honor. The Hall of Fame and Wall of Honor recipients also will be honored on the field at McLane Stadium during the Baylor-Houston football game on Saturday, November 4, 2023.
The 2023 Hall of Fame banquet is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, November 3, 2023, in the Cashion Building Banquet Room on the Baylor University campus.
Congratulations, Stan, on this long overdue recognition….but we always knew you to be a Hall of Fame Champion, on the track or in the courtroom!
Cokinos | Young has led Texas construction and real estate law for over three decades. And today, our 100+ dedicated professionals operate coast to coast and proudly handle all aspects of construction law for owner/developers, project managers, general contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, sureties, and lenders. We provide both dispute resolution and transactional services to clients through all phases of commercial, industrial, pipeline, offshore, civil, and residential construction. Our reputation was built on relentless commitment to client service and the industries we serve, and that remains our primary driver. Dedicated. Resilient. Expertise. That’s Cokinos | Young. Learn more at cokinoslaw.com.
In 2000 Pat Wielinski published Insurance for Defective Construction with International Risk Management Institute (IRMI). Early editions of the book focused on commercial general liability (CGL) insurance coverage for construction defects, including evolution of the policy forms. They also detailed the raft of coverage litigation surrounding “occurrence,” “property damage” and “business risk” as applied to the property damage exclusions, describing the nationwide efforts of the construction industry to solidify the underwriting intent behind the policy. Subsequent editions have been expanded to update those developments and to include additional issues. The sixth edition continues that expansion with new discussions, including breach of contract exclusions, pros and cons of wrap-up programs, builders risk and subrogation, contractors professional liability, and pollution coverage as impacting insurance and risk management for construction defects. Along the way, Pat offers commentary, analysis and sometimes opinions drawn from over forty years of representing parties in construction coverage disputes and through risk management counseling. The new edition of Insurance for Defective Construction is available for subscription on IRMI.com, IRMI’s website. If you have any questions, please contact Pat at pwielinski@cokinoslaw.com or 817-635-3620.
About Cokinos | Young
Cokinos | Young has led Texas construction and real estate law for over three decades. And today, our 100+ dedicated professionals operate coast to coast and proudly handle all aspects of construction law for owner/developers, project managers, general contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, sureties, and lenders. We provide both dispute resolution and transactional services to clients through all phases of commercial, industrial, pipeline, offshore, civil, and residential construction. Our reputation was built on relentless commitment to client service and the industries we serve, and that remains our primary driver. Dedicated. Resilient. Expertise. That’s Cokinos | Young. Learn more at cokinoslaw.com.
It is with great pleasure we announce that Houston Principal Parker Fauntleroy has been elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a national invitation-only organization of experienced trial lawyers and judges consisting of approximately 7,600 members in all 50 states. Being elected to this very select group is a great honor for a trial lawyer.
“We are thrilled to have Parker elected into ABOTA Membership and further our affiliation with this elite organization,” says Marc Young, also a member of ABOTA. “Parker’s skills and leadership will be an incredible asset to ABOTA as we strive to elevate the standards of integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession.”
Founded in 1958, ABOTA is a national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges. ABOTA and its members are dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the civil jury trial right provided by the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. ABOTA membership consists of more than 7,600 lawyers—equally balanced between plaintiff and defense—and judges spread among 95 chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
ABOTA is an invitation-only organization. Members must have at least five years of active experience as trial lawyers, have tried significant civil jury trials to conclusion and possess additional litigation experience. Parker has tried numerous significant cases to a verdict. Members must also exhibit the virtues of civility, integrity and professionalism by following ABOTA’s Code of Professionalism and Principles of Civility.
About Cokinos | Young Cokinos | Young has led Texas construction and real estate law for over three decades. And today, our 100+ dedicated professionals operate coast to coast and proudly handle all aspects of construction law for owner/developers, project managers, general contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, sureties, and lenders. We provide both dispute resolution and transactional services to clients through all phases of commercial, industrial, pipeline, offshore, civil, and residential construction. Our reputation was built on relentless commitment to client service and the industries we serve, and that remains our primary driver. Dedicated. Resilient. Expertise. That’s Cokinos | Young. Learn more at cokinoslaw.com.
27 Named Best Lawyers in America; 30 Named Ones to Watch
Cokinos | Young is pleased to announce that 57 lawyers are included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. This year’s list recognizes 27 Cokinos | Young attorneys as Best Lawyers in America and 30 attorneys as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America.
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.
Best Lawyers has earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Its first international list was published in 2006 and since then has grown to provide lists in over 75 countries.
Cokinos | Young would like to congratulate the following lawyers named to 2024 The Best Lawyers in America list:
Cokinos | Young has led Texas construction and real estate law for over three decades. And today, our 100+ dedicated professionals operate coast to coast and proudly handle all aspects of construction law for owner/developers, project managers, general contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, sureties, and lenders. We provide both dispute resolution and transactional services to clients through all phases of commercial, industrial, pipeline, offshore, civil, and residential construction. Our reputation was built on relentless commitment to client service and the industries we serve, and that remains our primary driver. Dedicated. Resilient. Expertise. That’s Cokinos | Young. Learn more at cokinoslaw.com.
Led by the trial team of Matt Thompson, Gabriel S. Head, Russell W. Smith, and Laura K. Napoli-Janitens, Cokinos | Young secured an eight-figure award for its client, a pipeline contractor, and fully defeated an eight-figure counterclaim asserted by the owner, who was awarded nothing, in an arbitration involving the construction of a pipeline and associated facilities in Louisiana. Kyle A. Zunker and Alfredo E. Montelongo were also instrumental in the team’s success.
The case was a highly contested dispute with significant damages at issue, involving complex scheduling and productivity analyses and extensive pre-hearing and post-hearing briefing.
Matt Thompson and his team at Cokinos | Young provided us with excellent guidance, trial preparation, and advocacy as we pursued recovery of monies expended to fund the completion of a major project for which the owner refused to pay. After many months of discovery and pre-hearing submissions, followed by 2 ½ weeks of arbitration hearings, Matt successfully prosecuted the claims. Matt and his team at Cokinos | Young are hard-working, knowledgeable, and professional, and we are happy they are on our side.
Cokinos | Young has led Texas construction and real estate law for over three decades. And today, our 100+ dedicated professionals operate coast to coast and proudly handle all aspects of construction law for owner/developers, project managers, general contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, sureties, and lenders. We provide both dispute resolution and transactional services to clients through all phases of commercial, industrial, pipeline, offshore, civil, and residential construction. Our reputation was built on relentless commitment to client service and the industries we serve, and that remains our primary driver. Dedicated. Resilient. Expertise. That’s Cokinos | Young. Learn more at cokinoslaw.com.
Led by nationally renowned San Antonio Principal Johnathan Bailey and Associate Kristin Zachman, Cokinos | Young recently secured award of a 50 million dollar contract for miscellaneous construction with the United States Navy for a Hawaii-based company after challenging the Navy’s award decision in bid protest proceedings before the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). The client’s proposal on the contract offered the Navy the lowest price and a high degree of technical merit but was rejected for reasons which the Cokinos | Young team was able to exhaustively show were both factually and legally incorrect. The Navy formally conceded errors in its award process prior to a ruling by GAO and awarded the contract to the client.
Johnathan Bailey and his team specialize in Government Contracts and have a long history of success at every level.
Cokinos | Young has led Texas construction and real estate law for over three decades. And today, our 100+ dedicated professionals operate coast to coast and proudly handle all aspects of construction law for owner/developers, project managers, general contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, sureties, and lenders. We provide both dispute resolution and transactional services to clients through all phases of commercial, industrial, pipeline, offshore, civil, and residential construction. Our reputation was built on relentless commitment to client service and the industries we serve, and that remains our primary driver. Dedicated. Resilient. Expertise. That’s Cokinos | Young. Learn more at cokinoslaw.com.
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