Clauses that push risk down the chain
Agreements drafted by the party higher up the chain usually move risk toward the party doing the work. Payment terms may tie your payment to the owner paying the contractor, and in New York a clause making the owner's payment an absolute condition of your ever being paid has generally been treated as unenforceable, while a clause that only affects timing is more often upheld. Indemnity provisions can ask you to cover losses on the site, though New York limits how far a construction contract can make you answer for another party's own negligence. Insurance requirements, including naming others as additional insureds, need to match what your policies actually provide. Flow-down language can also bind you to a prime contract you have never seen, so ask for a copy.
Notices, changes, and lien waivers
Many disputes are lost or narrowed not on the merits but because a notice was late or a change was never documented the way the agreement required. Read the provisions on extra work, delay, and claims closely, since they often set short windows and specific formats. Keep the signed agreement with every attachment, along with daily logs, photographs, and emails directing work outside the original scope. Lien waivers deserve care as well: a waiver signed to receive a progress payment can release more than the amount being paid if its wording is broad. If you are an individual employed on the job rather than a company hired to perform it, different rules apply, including wage requirements on many public projects, and those questions are better handled as an employment matter.
Reviewing the draft before signing
The useful time to raise concerns is before the agreement is signed, while terms can still be negotiated or clarified. We read the draft against the way you actually work: who supervises, how changes get approved in practice, and what your insurance covers. Some clauses will not change because the other side refuses to move, and then knowing the risk lets you price it or decline the job. If the project is already underway and a dispute is starting, we look at which deadlines are running under the agreement and under New York's lien and payment rules, because those can expire while people are still talking. We then discuss with you whether to keep working, how to reserve your rights, and what to put in writing.
