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How construction contractors can avoid or handle nonpaying customers

Aki Merced Construction & Building Materials

When construction contractors do business with clients, there is a fair expectation of payment for materials, labor, and services supplied. But sometimes, a client is unable to pay due to their financial difficulties and other situations, for reasons honest and otherwise. Regardless of the circumstances, however, not getting paid will hurt any business. Construction contractors need to have a strategic approach to collecting money and preventing nonpayments from constricting their cash flow. Here are some approaches that construction contractors can use to avoid and handle nonpaying customers.

Opportunity alert: A flurry of OASIS on-ramps

Lisa Pafe Civil & Government

After several months in a holding pattern due to U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) solicitation protest B-408685.18, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued an update to the long awaited on-ramps to the existing One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services Small Business (OASIS SB) pools on April 17. GSA states that they anticipate releasing OASIS Small Business (SB) Pools 1, 3 and 4 and 8(a) sub-pools in late April 2019. Based on GSA Interact OASIS milestones provided in March 2019, the unrestricted on-ramps are likely to follow a couple of months later.

Fighting the red menace: The 2019 Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun

Joshua Fry Recreation & Leisure

The Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun, or SMM3G: this is my Super Bowl, my World Cup, my World Series. I wait all year for one of the biggest and longest-running 3-Gun competitions in the country right in my backyard of Phoenix. This year, the match’s theme of fighting against the Russians brought some hilarious tongue-in-cheek humor and some soul-crushingly cruel stages that the Kremlin would be proud of.

3 steps to impactful sexual harassment prevention training

Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk Management

#MeToo has had a significant impact on organizational awareness of pervasive harassment issues. The number of states implementing sexual harassment prevention training requirements continues to increase, as does the number of progressive organizations offering training regardless of external requirements. But does all this training do anything to address the problem? Here are three steps to increase the chances it does.

What’s next as Department of Defense inches forward on commissary…

Miranda Y. Brumbaugh Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

On July 1, 2018, then-Deputy Secretary of Defense and current Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan signed legislation for a task force established to determine if the consolidation of four major entities in the commissary divisions of the military would be worth it. The task force, headed by retired Army Maj. Gen. Keith Thurgood, has completed a major report detailing its analysis. The proposed consolidation of commissaries could bring about major changes for active military and veterans alike.

Is a national DNA database to fight crime in our future?

Bambi Majumdar Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

Are we heading towards a de facto national DNA database to solve crimes? Will our future include a federal law requiring all U.S. residents to provide law enforcement with their DNA profile or volunteer genetic profiles to solve a crime? That future may not be too far away, because some agencies have used DNA information from third-party sites since April 2018. Since that time, DNA searches in consumer genetics databases have allowed law enforcement to make three dozen arrests. These arrests were made with the help of genetic matches between crime scene DNA samples and the genetic profiles shared on consumer platforms.

National bail reform includes controversial measures of judicial discretion

Michelle R. Matisons Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

In late December, President Trump signed the First Step Act, which reforms aspects of the federal prison system and U.S. corrections culture. The legislation came after a prisoner’s strike earlier in 2018 urgently echoed ongoing reform efforts, including felony voting and measures to prevent harmful overcrowding. One way to avoid overcrowded facilities is cash bail reform. New York City and other large and racially diverse urban centers, like Houston, Atlanta, and Chicago, are involved in experimental bail reform efforts that ameliorate some of the worst aspects of the system, while retaining powerful, and potentially subjective, judicial influence.

Alexa went to school, and now she’s HIPAA-compliant

Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental Healthcare

"Alexa, ask my dentist if my prescription is ready." No, really. You can do that now. Amazon announced on April 4 that its Alexa Skills Kit now enables select covered entities subject to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations to build Alexa skills that allow it to transmit and receive protected health information as part of an invite-only program. Cool. But what does that actually mean? It means soon you could be using your Alexa for more than weather and traffic updates and turning on music.

Gunfight anatomy: The Richard Mendoza incident

Eric Lamberson Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

With only nine months left on probation, Richard Mendoza was not going back to prison. When the female officer told him to get out of the car, he knew the police would discover his pistol. Mendoza also knew that surprise was on his side, so he decided to take the chance. The Los Angeles Police Department released video of the officer-involved shooting that left the suspect, Mendoza, dead and one officer wounded in the leg. The shooting happened during a traffic stop in the North Hills area of Los Angeles on the night of July 27, 2018.

How telecom fraud is becoming so popular

Mark Hearn Communications

You've heard about credit card fraud before. You might have been a victim, too. This type of fraud is accountable for the loss of billions of dollars. While the government and other organizations are working on reducing credit card fraud, they now have another challenge in the form of telecom fraud. It's said to be more destructive and harmful than credit card fraud. Moreover, some experts even believe that telecom companies allow fraudulent activities to take place because it is profitable for the business. In this article, we'll talk about telecom fraud and why it's such a common occurrence these days.

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