Cook Brown Featured in Article by Placer County Contractors Association
PCCA Member Spotlight - Cook Brown, LLP
Article reprinted with permission from Lee Berlin of the Placer County Contractors Association (PCCA)
It’s winter, then it must be about time for Cook Brown’s Sixth Annual Construction Industry Labor & Employment Law Briefing.
This year Cook Brown is presenting a “Prevailing Wage Boot Camp,” which will provide timely and important information for all who hope to bid or work on any government-funded projects in 2010 and beyond. The event is co-sponsored by the Associated Builders and Contractors Golden Gate Chapter, the Air Conditioning Trade Association, the California American Fire Sprinkler Association, the California Conference of Mason Contractor Associations, the Independent Roofing Contractors of California, the Nevada County Contractors Association, the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of California and the Western Electrical Contractors Association.
The seminar will be held on March 4 at the Doubletree Hotel just off Arden Way in Sacramento. The e-Zone sat down recently with several Cook-Brown LLP attorneys for a refresher course in some of today’s biggest management, labor and wage issues.
Dennis Cook, one of the attorneys who founded the firm in 1981, explained that his team of attorneys specializes in providing support, advice and litigation services for employers. They also represent employers in issues involving union organizing campaigns and collective bargaining agreements. Dennis said he focused his law career and his firm on labor law because he was working at the Department of Labor when he began law school.
“The topic naturally flowed from my job,” he said. Along with partner Ron Brown, Dennis has seen his firm grow to become one of our area’s most respected labor and employment law firms. “The kinds of cases we are seeing today reflect our society,” Dennis explained. “While a decade ago we were seeing more cases relating to equality, such as discrimination and harassment, today we are seeing more wage and hour issues and cases concerning overtime and work rules.”
For example, Attorney Carrie Bushman is a prevailing wage and apprenticeship law expert and also represents clients in cases involving wage and hour laws which apply on private jobs as well. Carrie explained that properly paying workers is an area that many employers find difficult to understand. “I am seeing so many employers getting audited and sued. We help our clients stay in compliance and we help them through the auditing process,” she said. “On some public works jobs, contractors are required to use apprentices. Today, with so many contractors taking on public works or government-funded jobs, every employer has to understand the labor requirements on the job,” she said.
Attorney Terry Wills works with employers on day to day employment issues, such as advising and defending them against wrongful termination or sexual harassment lawsuits.
“I am seeing more lawsuits arising from disability discrimination, leaves of absence, worker’s compensation leaves, and family and medical leaves,” she said. Many small employers overlook return to work and accommodation requirements because they are not aware that certain laws concerning family and medical and disability leaves apply to them,” she added.
Brian Bertossa, who will also be speaking at the seminar, works closely with construction firms to review and understand construction contracts. His job, he said, is to help contractors get paid. He is often asked to give advice about mechanic’s liens and payment bonds, and suggests that contractors obtain legal review of each contract before signing.
“We can help them go through the contract to ensure that they understand the terms. Then we can ask for changes in the contract which can help shift some of the risk off the small contracting firm,” Brian added.
With 11 attorneys and 7 staff members, Cook Brown LLP is a significant resource for employers in our region. The company also has offices in central and southern California and serves clients in Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Washington.
In addition to its yearly seminar for the construction industry, the firm holds a bi-monthly breakfast forum and frequent seminars on labor topics.
Cook Brown also prepares an informative quarterly newsletter. A recent issue featured an article by Ron Brown explaining the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The Act would significantly alter union organizing and the collective bargaining process. It’s Cook Brown’s job to keep an eye on such trends and help employers face them successfully.
Cook Brown LLP can be reached by telephone at 916-442-3100 or via its website at http://www.cookbrown.com. The firm’s local office is located at 555 Capitol Mall, Suite