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Showing posts from July, 2024

Crystal Lake contractor faces $287K in fines after exposing framing workers in Elburn to potentially deadly fall risks 3 times in less than a month

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Crystal Lake contractor faces $287K in fines after exposing framing workers in Elburn to potentially deadly fall risks 3 times in less than a month CRYSTAL LAKE, IL – Federal inspectors have cited 595 Construction LLC - a Crystal Lake contractor with a history of exposing employees to fall hazards - for eight safety violations after finding employees framing a residential structure without required protections three times at three residential worksites in the same neighborhood in May 2024. Falls from elevation are the leading cause of fatal and serious injuries in the construction industry, and among the safety violations most cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA inspectors first observed 595 Construction employees at work without legally required equipment on a residential structure in an Elburn neighborhood. On May 10, they witnessed similar violations at 1501 Collins Drive and across the street at 264 Davidson Drive. Three week
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Department of Labor finds appalling disregard of safety standards by building contractor in collapse of Boise airport hangar that killed 3 workers

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Department of Labor finds appalling disregard of safety standards by building contractor in collapse of Boise airport hangar that killed 3 workers BOISE, ID – A federal workplace safety investigation into the fatal injury of three workers and injuries to at least eight others, after an airport hangar collapsed near the Boise Airport in January 2024, found the building contractor ignored standard safety procedures and visible warning signs during construction.Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration responded to the scene of the deadly incident and discovered Big D Builders Inc. of Meridian had begun erecting the hangar without using sufficient bracing or tensioned guy wires. OSHA also learned the construction contractor had ignored numerous indications that the structure was unstable, including visibly curved, bent and wavy structural I-beams, unbalanced columns and several snapped wire rope cables. Despite these obvious concerns, fe
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Chicago-area framing contractor continues to expose employees to deadly fall hazards as violations multiply, federal fines reach new heights

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Chicago-area framing contractor continues to expose employees to deadly fall hazards as violations multiply, federal fines reach new heights RIVER GROVE, IL – Two federal workplace safety investigations have found a Chicago-area framing contractor - already facing debt collection for more than $100,000 in fines for violations identified in 2022 - continuing to expose employees to deadly fall hazards and defying the U.S. Department of Labor’s requests for documents and information related to the contractor’s business and workers safety and health.OSHA inspectors observed employees working at heights up to 30 feet without fall protection on Jan. 29, 2024, at a residential construction site on North 80th Street in River Grove, inspectors with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found employees of KW Framing Inc. without required protective equipment while they erected exterior walls on structures two to three stories high. During this visit, inspectors reminded
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Framing contractor again found exposing workers to deadly fall hazards, twice in less than 2 weeks at Perrysburg worksites; faces $199K in fines

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Framing contractor again found exposing workers to deadly fall hazards, twice in less than 2 weeks at Perrysburg worksites; faces $199K in fines PERRYSBURG, OH – Twice in less than two weeks, federal workplace safety inspectors found an Indiana contractor exposing employees to deadly risks of falls from elevation while they did framing work at two homes under construction in Perrysburg. Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration observed employees of MDM & Sons Construction LLC working on residential roofs at heights up to 13 feet without proper fall protection on May 1 and May 14, 2024, at locations on Brampton Park Road and Old Dover Road, respectively. OSHA issued four willful violations to the Woodburn-based company for again exposing workers to fall hazards, lacking fall protection training and not developing an accident prevention program. Inspectors also found the company failed to provide eye protection for workers using pn
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Department of Labor cites Winter Haven contractor for willfully exposing workers again to potentially deadly falls

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Department of Labor cites Winter Haven contractor for willfully exposing workers again to potentially deadly falls FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – For the second time in five years, the U.S. Department of Labor has found a Winter Haven contractor allowed employees to do roof work without adequate protection exposing workers to falls, one of the construction industry’s deadliest hazards.            The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection found that at an Ave Maria residential jobsite in January 2024, Carpenter Contractors of America Inc. willfully exposed employees to a 32-foot fall hazard as they did not require fall protection equipment for employees securing trusses and roof facia. OSHA has proposed $161,323 in penalties.“Falls from elevation kill more construction workers than any other industry hazards and yet, far too often, we find employers exposing their employees to debilitating injuries or worse,” explained OSHA Area Director Condell Eastmond in Fort
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US Department of Labor announces $99M in available funding to deliver education, occupational skills training, job services to young people

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US Department of Labor announces $99M in available funding to deliver education, occupational skills training, job services to young people WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $99 million in funding to support the delivery of pre-apprenticeships in high-demand industries including construction, clean energy, healthcare, infrastructure, information technology and hospitality.The YouthBuild Program grants provide academic support, occupational skills training and employment services to young people, ages 16 to 24, in communities where they face persistent barriers to academic and career skills development. In alignment with the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda, the program leverages the administration’s historic federal investments to help create good jobs and support a range of community needs, such as affordable housing and conservation. The YouthBuild grants will also support the department’s Youth Employment Works st
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US Department of Labor recovers $74K in back wages, damages for 19 construction workers denied overtime pay in Southwest Louisiana

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US Department of Labor recovers $74K in back wages, damages for 19 construction workers denied overtime pay in Southwest Louisiana Employer name:               PAR Construction LLCInvestigation site:            1424 Ryan St.                                                   Lake Charles, LA 70621Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found PAR Construction paid 19 non-exempt employees straight time for overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek, denying these workers the time and one-half overtime premium required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Back wages recovered:  $37,273 in back wages                                                    $37,273 in liquidated damagesQuote: “When employees work premium hours, they should get premium pay,” said Wage and Hour district Director Troy Mouton in New Orleans. “Most construction workers are due time and one-half their regular rate of pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week. Work in the construct
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US Department of Labor finds New Hampshire roofing company improperly classified, shortchanged foreign temporary workers

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US Department of Labor finds New Hampshire roofing company improperly classified, shortchanged foreign temporary workers MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $167,101 in back wages for 20 workers for a Keene roofing contractor that paid incorrect wages and improper overtime to foreign temporary workers employed through the federal H-2B nonimmigrant program.The Wage and Hour Division determined that The Melanson Company, a Tecta America Company LLC improperly classified workers as roofer helpers when, in fact, they were doing roofing work, a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act’s H-2B provisions. By doing so, the employer failed to pay correct prevailing wages, which led to additional violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act when the Keene contractor calculated overtime wages based on the incorrect wage rate.The recovery is part of a settlement between the division and The Melanson Company that required the employer to pay $154,596 in H-2B back wage
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Illinois contractor continues pattern of exposing construction workers to deadly fall hazards, employees observed in danger four times since January

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Illinois contractor continues pattern of exposing construction workers to deadly fall hazards, employees observed in danger four times since January SAVOY, IL – Federal workplace safety inspectors have cited an Illinois construction contractor for again exposing employees to falls from elevation — the industry’s leading cause of injury and death — as they did residential framing work, this time at four subdivisions under construction in Mahomet and Savoy in January, March and May 2024. Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration observed employees of Elmer Miller, operating as Miller Building Systems LLC, standing, climbing and walking about the trusses and top plates on residential homes sometimes at heights greater than 18 feet above ground level without adequate fall protection. OSHA alleges when workers did put on fall protection they were not directed to properly tie it off or secure the body harness, rendering the equipment ineffe
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Department of Labor cites Connecticut contractor for workplace safety violations found in fatal New Canaan trench cave-in investigation

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Department of Labor cites Connecticut contractor for workplace safety violations found in fatal New Canaan trench cave-in investigation BRIDGEPORT, CT – An Easton concrete and earthwork contractor could have prevented an employee repairing an underground water line from suffering fatal injuries in a December 2023 trench collapse at a New Canaan work site but failed to follow federal safety standards for excavations.Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined Sound Construction Inc. exposed five employees to cave-in, engulfment or struck-by hazards when it did not do the following:Provide cave-in protection for the more than 12-foot-deep vertical walled trench, which resulted in the death of an employee.Train employees on how to recognize and avoid trenching hazards.Ensure an excavator was kept more than two feet from the trench’s edge.Verify the location of underground utilities and/or structures prior to excavation.OSHA c
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Investigations find contractor repeatedly put employees in unguarded trenches that collapsed, trapped, injured workers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island

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Investigations find contractor repeatedly put employees in unguarded trenches that collapsed, trapped, injured workers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island BOSTON – Twice in less than three months in late 2023, a Boston waterproofing contractor exposed employees to life-threatening cave-ins and excavation hazards at residential worksites in Arlington, Massachusetts, and Warwick, Rhode Island, federal workplace safety investigators found.The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that in each instance – in Arlington on Sept. 10, 2023 and in Warwick on Dec. 2, 2023 – a Boston Waterproofing & Construction Corp. supervisor recruited, then ordered untrained day laborers to enter and work in unprotected excavations, despite the employees raising safety concerns and asking for cave-in protection, which the employer did not provide. The excavations collapsed at both locations, with each cave-in injuring and burying an individual worker.At the Arlingt
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US Department of Labor finds Alabama concrete contractor failed to protect 65-year-old employee fatally struck by 4-ton container near Tuscaloosa

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US Department of Labor finds Alabama concrete contractor failed to protect 65-year-old employee fatally struck by 4-ton container near Tuscaloosa MOUNDVILLE, AL – A U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation has found an industrial concrete construction contractor failed to follow required safety procedures that could have prevented a 65-year-old worker from suffering fatal injuries when a shipping container weighing more than four tons fell and struck the employee at a job site near Tuscaloosa.Investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned the employee of Ballard Contractors Inc. in Moundville was guiding an 8,575-pound shipping container into place when one of the chains used to lift the box snapped. OSHA determined the company violated federal regulations by doing the following: Failing to ensure rigging equipment was rated properly to handle the container’s weight. Permitting an employee to work near or beneath a moving load
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Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Su on June jobs report

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Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Su on June jobs report WASHINGTON – The Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on the June 2024 Employment Situation report:   “Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 206,000 jobs in June. The prime-age labor force participation rate hit a 22-year high, and the unemployment rate remains low at 4.1 percent. This strong jobs report demonstrates another month of steady, stable economic growth.  “Employment gains were widespread across industries, with notable growth in health care, social assistance, construction and local government. Increased employment in these sectors is not only meaningful for workers and their families, but these jobs will improve the lives of all Americans as cities and towns hire more first responders, firefighters, librarians and other city workers.  “The June jobs report continues to show that President Biden’s economic strategy is delivering for American w
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Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Su on June jobs report

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Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Su on June jobs report WASHINGTON – The Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on the June 2024 Employment Situation report:   “Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 206,000 jobs in June. The prime-age labor force participation rate hit a 22-year high, and the unemployment rate remains low at 4.1 percent. This strong jobs report demonstrates another month of steady, stable economic growth.  “Employment gains were widespread across industries, with notable growth in health care, social assistance, construction and local government. Increased employment in these sectors is not only meaningful for workers and their families, but these jobs will improve the lives of all Americans as cities and towns hire more first responders, firefighters, librarians and other city workers.  “The June jobs report continues to show that President Biden’s economic strategy is delivering for American w
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Department of Labor finds Pennsylvania roofing contractor willfully exposed own children to potentially deadly falls at Mechanicsburg site

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Department of Labor finds Pennsylvania roofing contractor willfully exposed own children to potentially deadly falls at Mechanicsburg site LIVERPOOL, PA– The owner of a Liverpool roofing company risked the lives of two of his children by exposing them to falls from heights — the construction industry’s leading cause of death — while they worked on roofs atop a Mechanicsburg apartment complex in June 2024, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.Inspectors with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation of S&L Roofing, Gutters and Siding LLC after the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry notified the agency that the owner and his 12- and 14-year-old sons were doing roofing work. In addition to finding the children exposed to fall hazards, OSHA determined the minors were exposed to injuries while using an incorrectly set extension ladder and pneumatic nail guns in violation of federal regulations. The agency issued the
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