Advocacy

More than three-quarters of the construction performed in the United States is performed by subcontractors. Whether you’re a small, family-owned plastering subcontractor working primarily on renovations of historical properties or a multi-million dollar commercial mechanical subcontractor, your work is subject to:

• General business laws and regulations (e.g., income tax, anti-trust).
• Laws and regulations specific to the construction industry (e.g., mechanic's lien laws, anti-‘bid shopping’ laws, prompt pay laws).
• And the “private law” of the subcontracts that describe subcontractors’ performance obligations and allocate risk.

ASA is the united voice dedicated to improving the business environment in the construction industry, representing subcontractors before all branches (executive, legislative, judicial) and levels (federal, state, local) of government, to organizations representing other parts of the construction industry, to the news media, and others.

Help Defend Our Future by Supporting the Subcontractors Legal Defense Fund

ASA underwrites the legal costs of filing "friend-of-the-court" briefs to inform the Court regarding the broader impact of relevant cases throughout the country. We have won dozens of these cases since 1997, vindicating subcontractor rights today and into the future!

Each year, courts across the country hand down hundreds of decisions on federal and state laws, as well as court-made or "case"law, that apply to subcontractors' businesses. Many of the decisions impacting subcontractors interpret the contract provisions of subcontract agreements—provisions like pay-if-paid, hold harmless, duty-to-defend, and no-damages-for-delay. Some of these decisions are precedent-setting and carry significance for subcontractors across state lines.

ASA's Subcontractors Legal Defense Fund supports ASA's critical legal activities in precedent-setting cases to protect the interests of all subcontractors. ASA taps the SLDF to fund amicus curiae, or  friend-of-the-court," briefs in appellate-level cases that would have a significant impact on subcontractor rights.