Is a pandemic or government shutdown force majeure?

It depends entirely on how the clause is written. Many contracts signed after 2020 explicitly name epidemics, pandemics, and government orders in the force majeure definition, which makes the answer straightforward. Older clauses often did not, and whether a shutdown qualified was litigated case by case, turning on catch-all language like "or other causes beyond the contractor's control" and on whether the event truly prevented performance rather than merely making it harder or more expensive. The lesson is that force majeure is a creature of the specific contract: read the enumerated list and the catch-all before assuming an event is covered.

Does force majeure mean the contractor gets paid for the delay?

Usually not. A force majeure event is the textbook example of an excusable but non-compensable delay: because neither the owner nor the contractor caused it, the typical outcome is a time extension with no monetary compensation. Both sides bear their own costs for the lost time. Some contracts modify this, allowing limited cost recovery or a shared-risk arrangement, and a few allocate specific force majeure costs to the owner, so the clause has to be read closely. But the default most contractors should expect is more time, not more money.

What does a contractor have to do to claim force majeure?

Give notice on time, prove impact, and mitigate. The contractor must provide written notice within the window the contract sets, usually measured in days from the event, or risk waiving the claim. It then has to show that the event actually delayed critical-path work, not work with float to absorb it, and document the impact with contemporaneous evidence such as dated daily reports, photographs, and weather data from a source like NOAA. Finally, most clauses impose a duty to mitigate: to take reasonable steps to limit the delay. A force majeure claim that skips notice or mitigation is frequently defeated even when the event clearly qualified.

Construction Glossary · Change Management

ForceMajeure

The hurricane nobody could stop still has to be handled by the contract. Force majeure decides who absorbs the lost time, and who absorbs the lost money.

Definition

Force majeure is a contract clause, and the class of events it names, covering extraordinary occurrences beyond either party's reasonable control, such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, war, or government action, that prevent performance. As a delay, a force majeure event is usually excusable but non-compensable: the contractor earns a time extension, but no money, and the owner cannot assess liquidated damages for that period.

What the event moves, and what it does not

A named-storm shutdown stalls the critical path on our $12.0M project for twenty working days. The finish date moves out; the contract price does not.

Time extension granted No compensation LDs blocked

What usually counts, and what usually does not

The clause lists specific events and then adds a catch-all. The line is drawn at genuine impossibility beyond either party's control, not mere difficulty or expense.

Event	Typically force majeure?	Why
Hurricane, flood, earthquake	Yes	Classic acts of nature beyond control
War, civil unrest, government order	Yes	Sovereign or societal, not contractor-driven
Unusually severe weather	Often	Only if it exceeds the normal expected for the season and locale
Normal rain, routine labor shortage	No	Foreseeable and part of ordinary performance risk
Contractor’s subcontractor default	No	Within the contractor’s sphere of responsibility

How POD documents the event

POD logs the force majeure event in its excusable-events register and pairs it with the field record that substantiates it: the dated daily reports showing work stopped, and POD's weather intelligence, which tracks the forecast and reasons about its impact on the schedule. Because the evidence is captured the day it happens rather than rebuilt from memory, the notice and the mitigation story hold up later. POD does not decide whether an event qualifies under your clause; it keeps the contemporaneous proof the determination depends on.

Delay analysis methodologies guide

Frequently asked questions

An act of God still needs a paper trail

Force majeure excuses the delay, not the notice. The clause only protects a contractor who claims it on time and proves the impact.

Liquidated Damages Back to the Glossary