Statutory Employer Issues in the Industrial Construction and Maintenance Markets

John Fenner, General Counsel, Turner Industries

Statutory employer provisions are an important issue for in-house counsel in the construction industry – particularly in the heavy industrial and maintenance markets. If properly negotiated, these provisions result in significant reductions in business and insurance costs. Professor Frank L. Maraist of the Paul M. Hebert [LSU] Law Center once declared, “Like the moon across the night sky, the (tort) immunity defense has waxed and waned across the ever changing horizon of American tort law.” The above statement is never more true than in the industrial construction, maintenance, and fabrication markets – particularly on the U.S. Gulf Coast, where contractors in refineries, chemical plants, paper mills, and other industrial ventures often leverage significant risk in the hope of landing lucrative contracts. Chaotic economic conditions in 2008 and beyond have exacerbated those concerns. Faced with an ever changing industry where negotiated risk swings like a pendulum depending on a party’s status, contractual indemnities require constant re-evaluation of the protections afforded by statutory employer provisions.

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USA Employment Construction November 2009 Vol. 3, No. 9, Autumn 2009

John Fenner

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Turner Industries

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Turner Industries has provided single vendor solutions in heavy industrial construction, maintenance, pipe, module and vessel fabrication, equipment, rigging and heavy hauling, and associated specialty services for nearly 50 years. Privately owned by the Turner family, and headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Turner Industries has facilities in Port Allen, Sulphur and New Orleans, Louisiana; Houston, Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Paris, Texas; and Decatur, Alabama, and works throughout the United States and abroad. Serving the Petrochemical, Chemical, Refining, Energy, Power Generation, Pulp & Paper and related industries, Turner Industries has built its reputation as a world class industrial contractor on safety, integrity, reliability, and project execution. Client recognition of our performance has consistently ranked us among the top industrial construction and maintenance service companies. We do a lot of things, but all with one purpose – helping our clients become more successful.

USA Employment Construction November 2009 Vol. 3, No. 9, Autumn 2009

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