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New Contract Simplifies Stimulus Work

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Construction subcontractors who want to work on federal government construction projects will have an easier time doing so, with the publication of a new contract agreement written to  address the complexities of federal subcontracting.  The agreement is the latest by  ConsensusDOCS, an industry-wide coalition.

At a time when the stimulus and other federal construction programs are rapidly expanding, this is the first standard subcontract to address new complex contractual rules and regulations for federal government projects.

“With America looking to the construction community to rebuild our economy and restore our hope, the last thing we want is contractors being excessively burdened by complex rules and regulations,” said Tom Kelleher, senior partner in Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP and chair of the national coalition of associations that wrote and endorsed the new standard contract.  “The new ConsensusDOCS federal subcontract will keep needed construction projects from getting tangled up in red tape.”

The new document is known as ConsensusDOCS 752 – Subcontract for Federal Government Construction Projects. It addresses the terms and conditions needed for subcontractors and contractors to comply with Federal Acquisition Regulations; new legal and ethical requirements pertaining to the legal status of employees; complying with ethics rules; and federal Prompt Pay Act requirements. 

The document was written, reviewed and approved by a team of professionals representing every part of the construction process, including contractors, subcontractors, owners and sureties.

“There is no need to reinvent the wheel every time someone wants to engage a subcontractor or work as a subcontractor on a federal government construction project,” Kelleher said.

ConsensusDOCS contracts are the first and only industry standard contracts written and endorsed by 22 leading construction organizations.  Offering a catalog of more than 90 contract documents covering all methods of project delivery, ConsensusDOCS contracts utilize best practices to represent the project’s best interests.  Endorsing organizations represent designers, owners, contractors, subcontractors and sureties.  For more information or to download excerpted samples,  visit www.ConsensusDOCS.org.