Construction Materials

Department of Labor secures consent judgment prohibiting Massachusetts contractor from retaliating against employees Date of action:                                   Nov. 22, 2024Type of action:                                  Consent judgment and orderEmployers:                                        Evolution Group Inc., Junior Moreira de Lima, Vitor Moreira                   ...

US Department of Labor fines Des Plaines solar contractor $288K in penalties for exposing workers to deadly fall hazards DES PLAINES, IL – The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a solar panel and battery storage company with two repeat safety violations after federal investigators found the company exposed workers to deadly fall hazards twice within three months. Investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration observed employees of Sunrun Installation Services Inc. of Des Plaines working without required fall protection while installing solar panels at two residential homes in the Chicago suburbs – one in Oak Park on June 18, 2024, and another in Skokie on Aug. 8, 2024. Falls from elevations are the leading cause of fatal and serious injuries in the construction industry.OSHA cited the company for two repeat safety violations and proposed $288,087 in penalties. The company has been cited previously for similar violations in Massachusetts in 2...

US Department of Labor finds contractor’s safety failures led to diver’s preventable fatality at underwater worksite at Manns Harbor bridge MANNS HARBOR, NC – A Maryland-based construction contractor could have prevented a 47-year-old diver from suffering fatal injuries during an underwater dive test in June 2024 at the Manns Harbor Bridge on Croatan Sound. Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned a four-member dive team employed by Coastal Gunite Construction Co. was doing an underwater test on the worker’s first day of work. Seconds after descending from a boat to about 19-feet underwater, the diver became unresponsive. Once the diver failed to answer radio calls, the other team members responded by removing the diver from the water. Co-workers assisted in getting the employee out of the water and performed CPR while waiting for emergency personnel to arrive. Despite those efforts, the employee could not be...

US Department of Labor awards $99.3M in grants to support training, job services to prepare young people to succeed in high-demand careers WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its award of $99.3 million in grants to 71 organizations in 31 states to provide training and employment services in its continuing effort to expand access to Registered Apprenticeships, prepare young workers for quality jobs and equip them with industry skills.These YouthBuild Program grants will support pre-apprenticeships to educate and train young people from 16 to 24 and neither enrolled in school or now in the labor market for construction jobs and employment in other high-demand industries. YouthBuild grants will help deliver education and training to enable participants to build or rehabilitate affordable housing in their communities for people in need.Today’s awards follow the department’s July 18, 2024, funding availability announcement.“YouthBuild grants are investments i...

Department of Labor finalizes rule on proper fit requirements for personal protective equipment in construction WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has finalized a revision to the personal protective equipment standard for construction. The final rule explicitly requires the equipment to properly fit any construction worker who needs it, improving protections from hazardous conditions.“I’ve talked to workers in construction, particularly women, who have spoken of personal protective equipment that didn’t fit or was simply unavailable at the jobsite in their size,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “PPE must fit properly to work. I’m proud of the broad support from both employers and unions for OSHA’s efforts to make clear that employers must provide the right PPE for each worker who needs it.”The revision to the standard adds specific language requiring that employers provide ...

Newark roofing contractor faces $328K in fines after investigators find workers exposed repeatedly to fall hazards at 3 worksites in a month NEWARK, NJ – Federal workplace safety officials have again cited a Newark construction contractor for repeatedly violating U.S. Department of Labor safety requirements at three North Jersey worksites, exposing employees to falls from elevations, the construction industry’s leading cause of death and serious injuries. The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected a RRC Home Improvement Inc. worksite in Dover in June 2024 after receiving reports of employees working on a roof without fall protection. A month after warning the company about the hazard, OSHA inspectors opened inspections at two RRC worksites in Lodi in July 2024 as part of the agency’s National Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction. Again, inspectors observed employees working without required fall protection. The inspectio...

Department of Labor cites North Florida contractors for willfully endangering employees in excavations without required safety protections JACKSONVILLE, FL – In one week, U.S. Department of Labor safety inspectors found two contractors working in Jacksonville and Daytona Beach willfully exposing employees to one of the construction industry’s deadliest hazards: trench and excavation collapses and cave-ins. On May 28, 2024, inspectors with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration witnessed workers employed by Masci General Contractor Inc. installing a sewer line in a trench 6-feet-deep and 40-feet-long near International Speedway and Atlantic Avenue in Daytona Beach. OSHA inspectors initiated the removal of the employees from the trench and subsequently, the agency issued a citation to the employer for willfully endangering workers by failing to provide essential cave-in protection, such as shoring or trench boxes, while they worked in the ...