Construction Materials

READOUT: Department of Labor joins Boston ironworkers for roundtable discussion on importance of mental health in the construction trades BOSTON – Leaders of the U.S. Department of Labor convened yesterday in Boston for a roundtable discussion on the importance of mental health friendly workplaces, particularly in the building trades. The event was held at the Iron Workers Local 7 Union Hall. The discussion highlighted the union local’s practices to promote workers’ mental health, part of the administration’s national strategy to transform mental health care and address the nation’s mental health care crisis. The roundtable also included leaders from New England-area unions and members, building contractors, and experts in substance use disorders and their prevention and treatment. The department’s Deputy Chief of Staff John Towle, Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker, Principal Deputy Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Ali Khawar and Assistant Secr...

Colorado contractor awaits sentencing on manslaughter charge after failing to protect employees in 2021 trench collapse that killed 23-year-old worker BRECKENRIDGE, CO – The owner of an Avon construction company whose failure to follow required federal safety standards led to the 2021 trench collapse death of a 23-year-old employee in Breckenridge now awaits a November sentencing date after pleading guilty to manslaughter on Aug. 3, 2023. The plea follows a criminal referral by the U.S. Department of Labor after Peter Dillon and his now defunct company, A4S LLC refused to require the use of proper safety equipment to protect his workers. The refusal contributed to a trench collapse in which a company employee, Marlon Diaz, suffered fatal injuries as he installed a residential sewer line. After an investigation of the incident by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, A4S LLC received three willful citations in May 2022 for not ensuring the excavation was inspe...

Federal investigators find Texas contractor exposed employees to struck-by hazards that led to crane collapse, employee’s death AUBREY, TX – A federal workplace safety investigation has found that a Farmersville construction contractor could have prevented the loss of a 23-year-old employee by following required safety procedures for operating a mobile crane at an Aubrey work site. Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned that the worker and other employees of S&D Erectors Inc. were constructing a metal building when the crane collapsed in March 2023. The agency determined the company exposed its employees to struck-by hazards by overloading the crane beyond its weight limitations. OSHA cited the company for four willful violations related to: Not using temporary alternative measures when the load and radius cell did not work. Operating a mobile crane in excess of its rated capacity. Requiring the crane operat...

Department of Labor orders Vermont agricultural equipment company to reinstate employee fired for raising environmental concerns BOSTON – In early June 2022, an employee of a Vermont company that sells and services agricultural equipment observed their employer pumping wastewater from the facility’s service bays onto the ground bordering the Winooski River in Berlin. The employee reported their concerns about the potential harm to the river, first to supervisors and then to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. Shortly after, Champlain Valley Equipment fired the employee and the worker filed a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. After its investigation, OSHA determined that the company’s actions violated the whistleblower provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and ordered Champlain Valley Equipment to reinstate the employee to their former position....

US Department of Labor awards $1.3M grant to State of Illinois to accelerate gender equity, inclusion in infrastructure workforce WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $1.3 million grant to the State of Illinois and Chicago Women in Trades to support the creation of equity plans and their adoption and increase women’s inclusion and equity in construction industry jobs. Funds will also allow Illinois to evaluate state and local workforce development programs for diversifying the clean energy and construction workforce. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and Gov. JB Pritzker made the announcement in Chicago. They were joined by the department’s Women’s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon.  “To build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, we need a workforce that brings in all of America and this grant and others like it help to do just that,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “The Department of Labor is working closely with our partne...

Contractor’s safety failures continue as federal inspectors find employees exposed to deadly fall hazards twice within 2 months WASHINGTON, MO – Twice within two months in 2023, U.S. Department of Labor inspectors observed Cheltenham Construction Services — a contractor with a history of workplace safety violations dating back to 2015 — once again exposing employees to deadly fall hazards as they performed siding and roofing work in Lake St. Louis and O’Fallon. The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted a February 2023 inspection in Lake St. Louis and April 2023 in O’Fallon finding the contractor allowed employees to work at heights greater than 6 feet without required fall arrest systems, safety nets or guardrails, and allowed ladders to be used improperly. In Lake St. Louis, the company failed to protect employees using pneumatic nail guns against eye and face hazards. OSHA cited the company — which operates as CCS — for two repeat and two serious viola...

US Department of Labor, Northern Marianas Technical Institute, OSHA Onsite Consultation Program align to promote safer, healthier workplaces Who:               U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration Department of Labor’s OSHA Onsite Consultation Division Northern Marianas Technical Institute What:             OSHA Safety and Health Alliance Background: OSHA, OSHA’s Onsite Consultation Division and the Northern Marianas Technical Institute have established a two-year alliance to provide the institute’s students and the public with information, guidance and training resources to help prevent and reduce worker exposure to safety and health hazards in industries throughout the commonwealth. On Aug. 20, 2023, OSHA Acting Area Director Pologa Setu, OSHA Onsite Consultation Program Manager Timothy Asaivao, and the Northern Marianas Technical Inst...