Lanter, Leonardo & Levy, LLC

This is an interesting ruling. The good guys win one for a change.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the summary judgment based on the “completed and accepted work” doctrine. The court, quoting Price stated the “completed and accepted work doctrine provides ‘that an independent contractor is not liable for injuries to third parties occurring after the contractor has completed the work and it has been accepted by the owner…a fortiori, an independent contractor is not liable where the injury is not due to the condition in which he left the work”.

Summers over, but this is still relevant in south Florida. “This website is part of OSHA’s nationwide outreach campaign to raise awareness among workers and employers about the hazards of working outdoors in hot weather. The educational resources page gives workers and employers information about heat illnesses and how to prevent them. There are also training tools for employers to use and posters to display at their worksites. Many of the new resources target vulnerable workers with limited English proficiency. OSHA will continue to add information and tools to this page throughout the summer.”

This makes me wonder as to why home builders are optimistic. Seems gloomy to me. Article here.

This is interesting. “Confidence among U.S. home builders rose this month to the highest level in six years, and many expect the housing recovery will strengthen in the next six months. The National Assn. of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Tuesday increased to 40 in September. That’s up from 37 in August and the highest reading since June 2006, just before the housing bubble burst.”….Hmmm.

Attracting and keeping top talent can be a problem. There are a lot of tools to help accomplish this task. Here is one that is particularly effective.

Although I hate the word “holistic” and am decidedly anti-watermelon (green on the outside, red on the inside), I thing that the concept of “net-zero buildings” is exciting. P.S., in case I haven’t pissed you off yet, globull warming is pure hokum.

Walmart expects to invest $380 million in South Florida over the next two years, building 12 new stores in the Tri-County area. local real estate brokers say this is only the beginning. Walmart is still hunting for additional expansion opportunities for both traditional supercenters and the smaller grocery-oriented Neighborhood Market. Read more here.

I’m not a believer….yet. The difficulty in obtaining a mortgage, the glut in as-of-yet unforeclosed on homes, and the pathetic employment situation all conspire against a robust housing market. I’m reminded of the word “unexpectedly” that crops up every time bad economic news is reported. Robert Stein, senior economist at First Trust Portfolios, talks about U.S. housing starts in August and the outlook for the U.S. housing market. He speaks with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop.” Video here.

The costs of providing health benefits to employees continues to skyrocket. This article makes the case that wellness programs can help mitigate those costs.

Hey! Found money. Your company may be due a refund if it made FICA payments on severance pay for laid off employees. “Employers who made substantial severance payments have a window to act. Employers who have not yet filed refund claims should consider doing so as soon as possible.” Read more here.