Until the developer of Las Vegas' newest attraction—the $300 million SkyVue observation wheel—had filled in the gaps in the project's finances, the contractors' legal bills seemed to be climbing higher than the structure. Photo by Tony Illia SkyVue broke ground in late 2011 along the Las Vegas Strip. Image courtesy SkyVue SkyVue includes a two-story, 200,000-sq-ft base building with two dozen retail shops, restaurants and convention space. Related Links: Caesars to Renovate Las Vegas Strip Property into $185M Boutique Hotel/Casino Now, according to developer Howard Bulloch, his steel observation wheel and retail complex on the Las Vegas Strip across from

Tony Illia for ENR The SkyVue project has shed its liens but still faces delays. Related Links: SkyVue Financial Troubles Mount SkyVue project website Until the developer of Las Vegas' newest attraction had filled in the gaps in the project's finances, the contractors' legal bills seemed to be climbing higher than the structure.Now, according to developer Howard Bulloch, his steel observation wheel and retail complex "is approaching a period of huge momentum" as construction financing has been finalized, tenants sign up and parts for the wheel arrive from around the world.One of two observation wheel projects being built in Las

Related Links: First Sealord Surety Fought Numerous Legal Battles in Last Years The fallout continues from the liquidation of First Sealord Surety, Inc., which was suddenly shut down last year by Pennsylvania insurance regulators. The shutdown forced small contractors served by First Sealord to scramble for replacement bonds.Then, last September, Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Considine filed a complaint against the Villanova, Pa. company's former directors, accusing them of diverting funds from First Sealord and using fraudulent and reckless reserving practices. The insurance department held the officers responsible for $7.87 million of the company’s losses.The complaint alleges that First Sealord's former

ftbelknap.org A greenhouse in part of the Fort Belknap reservation's college, where Dennis Lyon was the source of a surety bond. Related Links: ENR Editorial: Why Bond Assets Need Scrutiny GovTrack Page on H.R. 3534 Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance press release The Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance has added $155,000 to the tally of fines racked up by an individual surety provider accused of violating insurance statutes in eight states.Montana had previously fined Dennis Lyon $645,561 for supplying bid bonds and a performance bond without a license and with unverifiable backing assets, in 2004 and 2010. The

Edel Rodriguez Are solid employer abuse complaint policies enough? Source: Society for Human Resource Managment Steps to take for supervisors and employers when sexual harassment complaints are received. Related Links: Viewpoint: Tell Bullies to Step Off Will Proposed Anti-Bullying Laws Bring a Wave of Lawsuits? You could call it "jerk control"—what companies do to prevent or prepare for the day an employee crosses the line and starts making racial, sexual or intimidating comments to a co-worker or subordinate. Solid anti-discrimination and abuse policies and complaint procedures have helped contractors prevail in many of the lawsuits filed against them.Whether that has

Illustration by Edel Rodriguez As part of a tabulation, analysis and review of lawsuits filed in the last decade, ENR found that most claims for sexual harassment, including those lodged over same-sex harassment by men, were defeated without a full trial or reversed on appeal. Research by Barbara Mende Ten years of data on construction-related sexual harassment lawsuits. Related Links: Judges Overturn Same-Sex Harassment Verdict Editorial: Justice Denied in Boh Bros. Same-Sex Harass Verdict Viewpoint: Tell Bullies to Step Off What Companies Do to Fend Off Abuse SPECIAL INVESTIGATION In the first few months of 2007, John Cherry worked on

Related Links: EEOC: Pre-Employment Inquiries and Arrest & Conviction AGC of America HR Professionals and Training Education Conference-Oct. 15-18 in San Antonio Appellate Court Ruling: Douglas El v. SEPTA It might be time for your organization to review its hiring policy, especially if it excludes job candidates with criminal convictions in their pasts. Newly-expanded U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance, released in April, lists that as an example of possible discrimination.The guidance elaborates that, for certain jobs, any conviction record will disqualify a candidate by law. At about 40 pages, the expanded enforcement guidance contains more detail on these issues

A Louisiana federal appeals court on July 27 reversed a March 2011 ruling that awarded $301,000 to a former Boh Bros. Construction Co. employee who claimed that his superintendent sexually harassed him. The harassment allegedly occurred in 2010 during work on the I-10 Twin Span project crossing Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans.The appeal ruling states that the superintendent’s behavior was not indicative of sexual harassment, “nor is it the business of the federal courts generally to clean up the language and conduct of construction sites.” The original ruling found Boh Bros. liable for the stress experienced by ironworker Kerry Woods

Image courtesy of Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The university projected that renovation of the 120-year-old Natural History Building would cost around $70 million and involve replacing substantial portions of the floor. Related Links: Chicago Tribune coverage of the Board of Trustees decision BLDD Architecture's project page for the Natural History Building renovation A top Illinois university is about to put a price on failing to bring a potential conflict of interest between a school official and her architect husband to the attention of state officials for 15 months.The exact start dates for renovation of the

Related Links: OpenSecrets.org Page for the Campaign for Primary Accountability Homepage for the Campaign for Primary Accountability FEC records page for the Campaign for Primary Accountability Leo Linbeck III, the leader of a family-owned construction management firm in Houston, says he is through picking sides in political races using traditional approaches."Giving money to the conventional system when the conventional system is part of the problem never really felt very good," he says, referring to the outsized power that incumbents enjoy in many U.S. elections, locally and nationally.But instead of giving up on politics in disgust, Linbeck decided to take a