Publication
Legal Alert – Nevada Legislature Passes Reform on General Contractor Liability for Unpaid Subcontractor Labor Benefits
by Leon F. Mead II
The 2015 Nevada Legislature appears to have brought common sense reform to one of the state’s most controversial statutes – NRS 608.150 – which made “original contractors” liable to its subcontractor employees (or labor unions and labor union trust funds to which they were signatory members) for any unpaid wages and benefits owed to those employees. State and federal courts had interpreted this statute to also make the “original contractor” liable for any contractually mandated interest, penalty, attorney’s fees or other court costs the recalcitrant subcontractor incurred for the late payments. With the 2015 Nevada Legislature’s unanimous passage of Senate Bill 223 (“SB223”), the historical enforcement of NRS 608.150’s most draconian provisions may have come to an end.
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