ARE Daily | PcM #25 — Wrap-Up Review III: Final Drill

Quick Recall (from #24 — Wrap-Up Review II)

A 25-person firm receives a request for 14 weeks of unpaid parental leave. Does FMLA apply, and does the firm have to grant the full 14 weeks?

FMLA does not apply — it kicks in at 50 or more employees, and this firm has 25. The firm has no federal obligation under FMLA. They may have state-level obligations depending on jurisdiction, and they can choose to grant leave voluntarily — but FMLA itself doesn't require it. Also worth noting: even if FMLA did apply, it only mandates 12 weeks — not 14.

Today's Content

Exam day tomorrow. This email is a final high-density drill — the questions, numbers, and distinctions most likely to show up. No new material. Just the things worth having sharp.

The Numbers Worth Having Cold

Concepts That Get Confused — Keep These Distinct

Standard of care vs. warranty: Standard of care is what a reasonably prudent peer would do — negligence is the failure to meet it. A warranty is a guarantee of a specific outcome — not covered by professional liability insurance.

Marketing vs. PR: Marketing = specific client or opportunity. PR = broad audience, no specific ask.

Statute of limitations vs. statute of repose: Limitations starts at substantial completion. Repose starts at discovery with an outer absolute limit.

All-risk vs. specified peril: All-risk covers everything except what's excluded. Specified peril covers only what's listed. A201 requires all-risk.

Net multiplier vs. break-even rate: Multiplier includes profit. Break-even rate doesn't. The gap is the margin.

General ledger vs. project cost accounting: General ledger = firm-wide. Project cost = per project. Both are necessary.

Supervisor vs. mentor in AXP: Supervisor = required, licensed architect at the firm, formal. Mentor = voluntary, can be outside the firm, less structured.

Agent vs. vendor: Architect = agent, acts on behalf of owner. Contractor = vendor, acts in own interest.

Final Spaced Recall

From #01 What happens to a sole proprietorship when the owner stops practicing?

It typically ceases to exist — the firm has no independent legal identity and its value is tied entirely to the owner's personal reputation.

From #04 What is outsourcing, and why do firms do it?

Contracting with outside companies for specific work (CDs, renderings, modeling). Primary benefit: managing fluctuating workloads without constant hiring and layoffs. The architect of record remains responsible for the output.

From #09 What are the three methods of encouraging employee involvement in firm management?

(1) Quality control circles — ongoing small groups identifying and resolving work issues. (2) Special study groups — task-specific committees generating ideas for principals. (3) ESOPs — financial ownership stake through stock allocation over a vesting period.

From #12 What makes press releases an unreliable PR tool?

Placement is not guaranteed — editors decide whether to run them. Most never get published due to poor writing, incorrect formatting, wrong contact, or insufficient newsworthiness.

From #21 What does professional liability insurance explicitly exclude?

Intentional wrongful acts, claims for cost estimates being exceeded, and claims arising from express warranties. It covers negligence — not deliberate misconduct or contractual guarantees of outcome.

Today's Questions

1. What are the three conditions required for a negligence finding, and which one is most often the deciding factor in architectural claims?
2. An architect sends a $100K invoice. The client pays $60K and disputes the rest. The invoice is now 95 days old. What report should the firm be monitoring, and what should they do?
3. A building completed in 1988 is substantially copied by a developer. Does the architect have copyright protection for the building design itself?
4. The owner wants to use the architect's drawings after terminating the contract for their own convenience. What must they do, and why?

Answers from #24 — Wrap-Up Review II

1. 25-person firm, 14-week leave request — does FMLA apply? → No — FMLA requires 50+ employees. No federal obligation. State law may vary. The request also exceeds FMLA's 12-week maximum even if it did apply.
2. Net multiplier — what does it account for, typical range? → Accounts for fringe benefits, indirect labor, overhead, and profit in a single factor applied to the employee's hourly rate. Typical range: 2.7–3.0.
3. Architect observes dangerous scaffold — obligations in order? → Notify the contractor (not the subcontractor), follow up in writing to both contractor and owner, and if not corrected, suggest to the owner that construction be stopped.
4. $50K deductible, $200K fire damage to off-site stored work — who pays deductible? → The owner. A201 states that when the owner's property insurance has deductibles, the owner is responsible for costs not covered because of those deductibles. All-risk coverage does include work stored off-site.

That's the full PcM series. Good luck tomorrow — you've put in the work. 🏛️