Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com March16,2015•Hartford Business Journal 5 PDS has been meeting the needs of the construction industry since 1965. Our dedicated team of design and construction professionals welcomes the challenge of serving its past and future customers on their most demanding projects. Guida's Dairy | New Britain, CT PDS Engineering & Construction served as Design- Builder for the construction of a new milk and ice cream processing plant for Guida's Dairy, one of the largest independent dairies in New England. In order to maintain an active loading dock during construction, sheet piling was used as a temporary support while the 16' concrete retaining wall was built. The second floor was designed to maintain 600 pounds per square foot. Total Project Size: 25,000 SF 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 (860) 242-8586 | Fax (860) 242-8587 www.pdsec.com PDS EnginEEring & COnsTRuCTiOn, inC. Design BuilDeRs • geneRal COnTRaCTORs • COnsTRuCTiOn ManageRs SPoTlighT on: inDUSTRiAl Switch to Frontier Business Edge. AND MAKE YOUR NETWORK AS RELIABLE AS YOU NEED IT TO BE. innovative. Total Reliability is having a provider that's working whenever you are. It's having a plan that helps you work faster and more effi ciently. That's what Frontier Business Edge brings to your business. 1.800.935.8375 | frontier.com/businessedge ©2015 Frontier Communications Corporation. ROP_E_HBJ_031615 BE Connected Advanced data, voice and video solutions Wi-Fi networking BE Everywhere Seamless Cloud access State-of-the art network BE Confi dent 24/7 tech support 100% U.S.-based workforce 00508_ROP_E_HBJ_031615_F.indd 1 2/18/15 2:07 PM CT companies advocate gay marriage to Supreme Court Several Connecticut companies have joined forces with corporations across the nation to support gay marriage in a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Hartford companies including insur- ers Aetna and Hartford Financial Services Group joined an amicus, or friend-of-the- court, brief on March 5 urging the justices to overturn the lower court's rulings allow- ing for the ban of same-sex marriage in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Michigan. "As a company, we strive to build a cul- ture that values diversity and cultivates an inclusive work environment," said Thomas Hambrick, spokesman for The Hartford. "We believe that everyone should be treated equally under the law. Signing on to this brief is the right thing to do for our employees, the LGBT community and our business." If the nine Supreme Court justices over- rule the lower courts in the Obergefell v. Hodges case, gay marriage would be legal in 41 U.S. states. The ruling is expected in June. In 2008, Connecticut was the third state ever to approve gay marriage. "Current laws in states banning same- gender marriage hinder us from being able to attract and retain top talent and make it more cumbersome to conduct operations across the country," Hambrick said. A total of 379 companies filed the brief supporting gay marriage. In addition to Aetna and The Hartford, other Connecticut companies that signed briefs in support of gay marriage include Ridgefield drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Wallingford drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bloomfield insurer Cigna, Fairfield manufacturing conglomerate General Electric, the Greater Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, Groton drug maker Pfizer, and the parent of Bristol sports programmer ESPN, the Walt Disney Co. – Brad Kane CORRECTIONS & AmplIfICATIONS The March 9 story ("CT's EXP investment: $10,000 per job,") incorrectly reported the sum of loans and grants remitted to 24 firms that have since closed doors. The total is $4.1 million. It also misidentified Catherine Smith's former employer. She previ- ously worked for ING, now Voya Financial. One 777 Main sub returns One of the subcontractors renovating a former downtown office tower into high-rise apartments is back at work and a second is close to returning after being sidelined for breaching state labor rules, authorities say. New England Painters Inc. of Bloomfield and Quanta Technologies Inc., of Lancaster, Pa., are among dozens of subcontractors remaking 777 Main St. into 285 apartments. Fairfield architect Bruce R. Becker is owner/developer of the 26-story skyscraper at the corner of Main and Pearl streets. The project is on track for late spring occupancy, Becker said. According to Gary Pechie, director of the state labor department's Wage and Work- place Standards Division, "stop-work'' orders were issued in early February against New England Painters and Quanta. At issue, Pechie said, was whether both had the proper worker's compensation cover- age and documentation for their employees. Both have since met workers comp com- pliance and have been cleared by the labor agency to resume their work, he said. But at press time Thursday, only New Eng- land Painters had been formally notified that its stop-work order had been lifted. Pechie said Quanta's notification was imminent. New England Painters declined comment. However, Pechie said, state labor inves- tigators continue to review whether the project is in compliance with federal rules regarding payment of prevailing wages to construction workers because the 777 Main project received federal Housing and Urban Development funding. In addition, questions linger, he said, about whether the insulated glass-panel maker/ installer Quanta has the proper license to operate in Connecticut. Quanta executive Jay Reyher said he believes Quanta is in compliance with state law and that he expects that matter to be resolved soon. Meantime, it was announced last week that New Haven's Blue State Coffee will be an anchor retail tenant on the Main Street side of the building by summer. – Gregory Seay The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are expected to rule in June whether gay marriage is legal in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Michigan. P H O T O | C O n T r i b u T e d RepoRteR's NOTEbOOk

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