Oregon Construction Law : Oregon Construction Lawyer & Attorney : Davis Wright Tremaine Law Firm : Serving Portland, Salem, Eugene, Beaverton

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the Oregon False Claims Act,  a bill that made its way through the house and the senate and was on its way to the governor's desk for signature.

The large number of inquiries I have received about the bill speaks volumes about the impact this law will have on contsruction contractors and how seriously folks in the industry need to take this piece of legislation.

Indeed, the governor signed the bill.  So Oregon now has a state version of the Federal False Claims Act.  

The law goes into effect January 1, 2010 and can be found at OR Laws Chapter 292.

So contractors (and subcontractors) that do public procurement work beware....

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Construction contractors working on Oregon procurement projects beware (including general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers).  Oregon is on the verge of passing the state equivalent of the federal False Claims Act (31 USC 3729).

The Oregon bill essentially mimics the federal act, penalizing contractors who "knowingly" present false claims to the government.  This includes construction contractors who "exaggerate" their percentage completion on payment applications.  What qualifies as "knowing" has been debated ad nauseam in federal government contracts case law where Oregon courts will look for guidance as needed.

Note that "no harm, no foul" does not apply because a contractor triggers the violation upon submission of a problematic payment application.  No payment need be received from the agency.

Penalties are not as severe as under federal law ... yet.  The bill addresses civil liability only.  That means company executives won't go to jail, but fines of $10,000 per violation (for example, for each pay app) can add up quickly.

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