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Adams and Reese Construction Team Co-Leader and Partner Trent Cotney was interviewed by Construction Dive in the article, “How to Manage Subcontracts Amid Trump’s Immigration Plans.” The article is also featured on Yahoo! Finance.
The article discusses how the incoming Trump administration has promised to step up immigration enforcement, and therefore businesses in the construction industry, which relies on foreign-born workers, may need to prepare for either I-9 audits and/or workplace investigations by federal agencies to ensure they are in compliance.
“A contractor does not need to obtain I-9s for 1099 workers including subcontractors,” said Cotney in the article. “The sub is required to maintain their own I-9s. However, if there is a determination that a 1099 has been improperly classified and should have been a W-2, then they may have liability for not maintaining I-9s on the workers.”
A 1099 form is necessary for payment to a non-employee such as an independent contractor, while W-2s are used when paying full-time employees.
At Adams and Reese, Cotney is a leading member of one of the largest construction practices in the country with more than 90 attorneys on the construction team.
A Partner in the Adams and Reese Tampa office, Cotney represents construction and infrastructure clients, including GCs, subcontractors, suppliers, manufacturers, architects, engineers, roofers, developers, and other professionals. Cotney is a board-certified construction lawyer licensed in eight states and Washington, DC. Cotney is an EU arbitrator for construction-related disputes. He is also experienced in construction litigation and arbitration, including OSHA defense, lien law, bond law, bid protests, and construction document review and drafting.