Construction Law Toolbox : Mississippi Construction Lawyer & Attorney : Biggs, Ingram, Solop & Carlson, PLLC : MS & Southeast Construction Law Toolbox

In an attempt to avoid liability for the various deficiencies in its plans and specifications, some architects and engineers rely upon the general disclaimers set forth in the contract documents. However, the United States Supreme Court has held these general disclaimers are unenforceable as a matter of law. In U.S. v. Spearin, the Supreme Court ruled that the Owner is responsible and affirmatively warrants the adequacy of its plans and specifications and that responsibility "is not overcome by the usual clauses requiring builders to visit the site, check the plans, and to inform themselves of the requirements of the work." Similarly, in Baldi Bros. Constructors v. U.S., the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that such general contractual provisions, even including a provision which states the owner does not guarantee the statements of fact in the specifications, will not relieve the owner from liability for providing misleading information to the contractor

Neither the Owner nor the design professional can fully shield itself from liability for its errors and/or omissions in the plans and specifications through disclaimers in the contract documents. Likewise, disclaimers shifting the burden of costs associated with errors and/or omissions are also generally unenforceable. A contractor is therefore typically entitled to rely on the representations in the plans and specifications, but the contractor should nevertheless perform a reasonable site inspection and review of the plans and specifications so that obvious errors and/or omissions can be addressed prior to bidding.

When a contractor does find itself confronted with such general disclaimers and the owner and/or architect nonetheless issues a directive to proceed, the contractor must document its position with regard to the error and/or omission to protect its position. The lack of such documentation may substantially impair, if not be fatal, to the contractor’s claim for additional compensation and/or time.

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By now, most employers have heard of the federal "E-Verify" program which is designed to identify and prohibit employment of illegal aliens. In the 2008 legislative session, the Mississippi Legislature adopted the "Mississippi Employment Protection Act" ("MEPA") which has features similar to the "E-Verify" Act, but is broader in its application.

Unlike federal law, the MEPA applies to every employer. An "employer" is defined as "any person or business that is required by federal or state law to issue a United States Internal Revenue Service Form W-2 or Form 1099 to report income paid to employed or contracted personnel in Mississippi." In other words, the MEPA applies to virtually everyone.

So what must the employer do under the MEPA? "Every employer shall register and utilize the status verification system [i.e., the federal E-Verify Program] to verify the federal employment authorization status of all newly hired employees." There are no exceptions! So if you are a small business and hire just one new employee, you are still covered and expected to verify the employment authorization status of the employee. Under the law, employers in the state of Mississippi shall only hire U.S. legal citizens or legal aliens. The E-Verify Program is the authorized means by which employers can verify the employee’s status.

The MEPA was implemented in stages since its adoption. However, effective July 1, 2011, the MEPA is fully implemented and, as mentioned previously, applies to all employers.

What are the consequences for failing to comply? Substantial! Any contract with the state or other public body can be cancelled and you can be ineligible for any public contracts for up to three years. You can also lose any license, permit, certificate or other document issued by any public entity which gives you the right to do business in Mississippi for up to one year. Effectively, these consequences could put you out of business, even if you do not hire an illegal alien! The mere failure to follow the verification requirements could subject you to these penalties.

Can the state do this? Yes. On May 26, 2011, the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision affirming similar laws in Arizona. In the case of Chamber of Commerce of the U.S.A. v. Whiting, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Arizona’s law which the Court concluded did not preempt the federal law, but instead merely imposed licensing conditions on businesses operating within the state. The Supreme Court further concluded that nothing prevented states from making mandatory the federal E-Verify program. The MEPA appears to be consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling and, therefore, would likely be upheld.

Bottom line: Comply with the MEPA. If you have not already registered for E-Verify, do so now and learn how to use it so that you will be ready on July 1^st.

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As part of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 ("TIPRA"), Congress required federal, state and local governments to withhold 3% on payments made to government contractors and some others from payments made for property or services. Implementation of the law was set to take effect January 1, 2011, but was delayed until January 1, 2012. The IRS just released its final regulations related to the law. The good news for contractors is that the IRS has delayed implementation until January 1, 2013.

The delays in implementation have resulted at least in part from the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. However, unless the law is repealed, the deferment will come to an end and contractors should begin preparing now for its eventual implementation since your cash flow will be impacted. The law is a flat withholding on the gross amount irrespective of any other conditions such as whether the contractor owes any back-taxes or whether the contractor even expects to have taxable income.

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