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Department of Labor alleges subcontractor knowingly exposed employees to asbestos hazards during former Waukegan hospital demolition

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Department of Labor alleges subcontractor knowingly exposed employees to asbestos hazards during former Waukegan hospital demolition WAUKEGAN, IL – Alleging that K.L.F. Enterprises — a Chicago demolition subcontractor — knew it was exposing its employees and others to the serious dangers of asbestos at a Waukegan work site, the U.S. Department of Labor has cited the company for 36 safety and health violations after a federal investigation. In November 2023, investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened a complaint inspection after they observed K.L.F. employees not wearing protective equipment amid piles of debris and steel I-beams during structural demolition of the eight-story former Lakes Behavioral Health hospital. OSHA determined that K.L.F. continued demolition activities — disturbing and removing asbestos used to fireproof the building’s interior — despite recognizing the debris piles outside were likely asbestos-laden. The company did
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Illinois contractor continues to expose construction workers to deadly fall hazards; employees observed in danger twice within a month in subdivision

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Illinois contractor continues to expose construction workers to deadly fall hazards; employees observed in danger twice within a month in subdivision SAVOY, IL – Twice within a month, an Illinois roofing contractor — cited previously more than 20 times for violating federal workplace safety regulations — was again found exposing employees to falls as they did residential framing work on houses under construction in Savoy. Falls remain the construction industry’s leading cause of death.  Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration observed Elmer Miller’s employees, operating as Miller Building Systems LLC, standing, climbing and walking about the roofs, beams and top plates while framing homes without any protection from falling, sometimes at heights greater than 18 feet above the ground at the Prairie Meadows subdivision on June 26 and July 26, 2023.Federal inspectors were met with hostility when they approached the worksite. OSHA cited
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READOUT: Acting Secretary Su announces action to support efficient construction projects while creating good-paying jobs

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READOUT: Acting Secretary Su announces action to support efficient construction projects while creating good-paying jobs WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su joined General Services Administrator Robin Carnahan, Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director for Management Jason Miller, Rep. Shontel Brown, and Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb in Cleveland on Dec. 18, 2023, to announce a final rule implementing President’s Biden’s Executive Order 14063 requiring Project Labor Agreements for most large-scale federal construction projects.   The rule will help ensure that large federal construction projects are completed efficiently and on time, while also supporting good, high-quality jobs. The rule will empower workers as the President’s agenda rebuilds America’s infrastructure. The delegation made the announcement at the Celebrezze Federal Building. Currently, the GSA is working to modernize the building to better serve the needs of veterans, students, retirees and other commun
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Statement by Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety, Health on 2022 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

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Statement by Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety, Health on 2022 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker issued a statement regarding today’s release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of its 2022 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries:“Today’s announcement by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of a 5.7 percent increase in fatal occupational injuries is a sobering reminder of the important work we must do, especially for Black and Hispanic workers who saw the largest increase in workplace fatalities. “In 2022, 5,486 workers in the U.S. lost their lives. This equates to one worker death every 96 minutes, with deaths the highest among transportation and construction workers. We also saw growth in disparities for workers of color, including Black workers, whose fatality rate increased 12.4 percent, and Hispanic workers, whose rate grew by 10.4 percent.“No worker should ever be d
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Department of Labor finds two Houston contractors willfully ignored federal safety requirements, leading to fatal roof collapse at high school

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Department of Labor finds two Houston contractors willfully ignored federal safety requirements, leading to fatal roof collapse at high school HOUSTON – A federal investigation into the fatal roof collapse at Friendswood High School in June 2023 in which four workers suffered injuries — including one who later died — found two Houston-area contractors exposed employees to safety hazards by ignoring federal requirements to complete an engineering survey before demolition began.  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that supervisors of ICI Construction Inc. and Emanuel Enterprises LLC failed to complete the survey and allowed demolition to continue, even after hazards became apparent to them. In fact, they directed employees to continue to work under the structure that later collapsed on them.“Ignoring federal standards and the company’s own policies prevented them from identifying a load-bearing wall that was shown on construction draw
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Federal safety inspectors find Palatine roofing contractor continued to expose employees to deadly fall hazards; cite 6th violation since 2019

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Federal safety inspectors find Palatine roofing contractor continued to expose employees to deadly fall hazards; cite 6th violation since 2019 PALATINE, IL – Twice within a month in summer 2023, federal workplace safety inspectors found a Palatine contractor did not provide roofing employees with required fall protection, exposing them to the risk of falls from elevation, the construction industry’s leading cause of workplace deaths.These workplace safety violations by Ricardo Gallardo - operating as R&R Construction Services Inc. - are the fifth and sixth times since 2019 that inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration discovered the company violating federal regulations for protecting workers from falls. On June 15, 2023, OSHA inspectors opened an investigation after they observed eight roofers working without fall protection at heights over 6 feet at a residential home work site in Palos Heights. On July 18, 2023, inspectors obs
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Minnesota construction contractor faces $1.8M in federal penalties for exposing workers to trenching hazards for the 4th time since 2019

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Minnesota construction contractor faces $1.8M in federal penalties for exposing workers to trenching hazards for the 4th time since 2019 MINOT, ND – Despite signing a 2021 settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor that included a promise to protect its employees from potentially deadly trenching and excavation hazards, a Minnesota construction contractor was again found endangering employees in June 2023 as they replaced a residential water main and 20 separate curb stop valves for house connections in Minot. In April 2021, Wagner Construction Inc. pledged to improve its safety procedures and training in a comprehensive agreement with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to resolve violations of federal workplace safety regulations after agency inspectors cited the company at three North Dakota job sites in 2019 and 2020 for exposing employees to excavation hazards.The agreement included the company’s commitment to make significant changes, inclu
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US Department of Labor, MEJA Construction Inc. to promote safety during construction of Clayton County’s Forest Park Middle School

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US Department of Labor, MEJA Construction Inc. to promote safety during construction of Clayton County’s Forest Park Middle School Participants:  U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health AdministrationMEJA Construction Inc.Georgia Institute of Technology On-Site Safety and Health Consultation ProgramWhat:  Strategic safety partnershipBackground: The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and MEJA Construction Inc. signed a strategic partnership to promote safety and health practices to help in preventing worker injuries and reducing exposure to hazards during construction of Forest Park Middle School in Clayton County, Georgia. The initiative will also encourage contractors to develop and implement safety and health programs, and provide safety and health training to employees, employers and supervisors to reduce the number of injuries and illnesses, increase safety and health training, reduce the overexposure of workers to health and safety hazard
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