“As the Coronavirus pandemic will clearly continue into 2021, a property owner who hires a construction contractor should ensure that its contract contains language dealing specifically with how work is to proceed under the current health threat and generally with how pandemics are to be handled,” Asselta said. “The contract should incorporate COVID-19 safety protocols governing the performance of physical work and the contractor should acknowledge that
it has factored those protocols (and others which are reasonably anticipatable) into its contract price.”

“In addition, in the event of another future shutdown or partial shutdown due to COVID-19 or some other pandemic, the agreement should spell out exactly what happens and whether the contractor can claim an extension of time and/or additional costs from the owner,” he said.

Click here to read the full-text. Reprinted with permission from Long Island Business News.