Posts

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

-
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
Post a Comment
Read more

Tamuning contractor faces $1M in penalties after federal inspectors find employees again exposed to potentially fatal trench hazards

-
Tamuning contractor faces $1M in penalties after federal inspectors find employees again exposed to potentially fatal trench hazards TIYAN, GUAM ‒ A contractor with a history of failing to protect employees working in trenches from potentially deadly harm faces penalties of more than $1 million after federal investigators found employees working in trenches deeper than 5 feet without required safety equipment. Trench collapses are among the construction industry’s most serious dangers. Excavations can collapse in seconds and lead to serious and often fatal injuries as workers are buried under cubic yards of soil, each weighing as much as 3,000 lbs. In 2022, trench collapses killed at least 39 U.S. construction workers. Despite these dangers, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration discovered employees of Giant Construction Corp., a Tamuning contractor, installing sewer lines in multiple trenches at a worksite in the Palisades Subdivision Project in
Post a Comment
Read more

US Department of Labor cites 2 Florida construction contractors after finding lack of crane safety protocols led to 37-year-old employee’s fatal injuries

-
US Department of Labor cites 2 Florida construction contractors after finding lack of crane safety protocols led to 37-year-old employee’s fatal injuries ORLANDO, FL – Federal workplace safety investigators have determined that a Tampa-area construction contractor could have prevented a 37-year-old aerial lift operator from suffering fatal injuries after being struck by a boom as a crane tipped over during work on an Orlando highway ramp in October 2023.Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the incident occurred while employees of Concrete Impressions of Florida Inc. in Tampa and Adcock Cranes Inc. in Plant City installed precast concrete sound barrier panels on the southbound SR-417 ramp. OSHA determined the Concrete Impressions operator was working in an aerial lift as a 10,700-pound panel was being lifted into place by an Adcock Cranes employee. During the process, an outrigger gave way and tipped the 110 Liebherr cran
Post a Comment
Read more

Federal court orders 4 Arizona contractors to pay over $3.2M in owed wages, damages to 890 workers after Department of Labor investigations

-
Federal court orders 4 Arizona contractors to pay over $3.2M in owed wages, damages to 890 workers after Department of Labor investigations PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that efforts to protect residential construction workers from unlawful pay practices have recovered a total of $3.2 million in wages and damages from four Arizona contractors for 890 workers.After a series of investigations, the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that 4-E Painting LLC and Liberty Constructors LLC in Mesa and BCK Coatings Inc. and Geronimo Wall Systems LLC in Tempe willfully and recklessly shortchanged the affected workers and violated the overtime and minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.The division’s investigations found:4-E Painting LLC did not pay overtime wages when the employer paid employees piece-rate wages for painting work or a combination of hourly wages and piece-rate wages. The division determined 4-E Painting owed $432,633 in overti
Post a Comment
Read more

Department of Labor to host online forum May 8-9 for employers, workers, other stakeholders on compliance with federal workplace regulations

-
Department of Labor to host online forum May 8-9 for employers, workers, other stakeholders on compliance with federal workplace regulations WHO:             U.S. Department of Labor WHAT:          2024 Forum:                         “Ensuring a Strong Foundation of Compliance with Federal Labor Laws in Construction”WHEN:          May 8-9, 2024                       9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDTWHERE:       No cost to attend this online event. Registration is required for each day individually. Register to attend the forum on May 8           Register to attend the forum on May 9Background: The Department of Labor in Dallas will host a two-day online forum on compliance with federal laws governing wages, safety and other workplace issues. The event will include presentations and panel discussions with representatives from across the department, including those from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Benefits Security Administration, Employment and Training Administration, Office of F
Post a Comment
Read more

US Department of Labor recovers $34K in back wages, benefits for 9 workers misclassified by subcontractor on federal project in District of Columbia

-
US Department of Labor recovers $34K in back wages, benefits for 9 workers misclassified by subcontractor on federal project in District of Columbia Employer name:       Day-Debut Mechanical Inc.Employer address:    22421 Goshen School Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20882Investigation findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division determined that Day-Debut Mechanical Inc., a federal subcontractor on the Paxton Apartments construction project in the District of Columbia, misclassified nine sheet metal workers and insulators as laborers. By doing so, the employer did not pay them the proper prevailing wages and fringe benefits in violation of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. The division also determined Day-Debut had incomplete payroll records, submitted falsified payrolls and failed to provide required records, all violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.Another subcontractor on the project, Titan Mechanical Inc. of Manassas Park, Virginia, paid the owe
Post a Comment
Read more

Federal safety inspections find Kansas construction contractor again failing to protect workers from potentially deadly fall hazards at Missouri homesites

-
Federal safety inspections find Kansas construction contractor again failing to protect workers from potentially deadly fall hazards at Missouri homesites WELLSVILLE, KS – Federal workplace safety inspectors found a Kansas roofing contractor again putting its employees at risk of falls from elevation — the construction industry’s deadliest hazard — by not providing required protective equipment at two residential worksites in October 2023. U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officers opened inspections after observing three employees of Triple A Built LLC in Peculiar and Blue Springs, Missouri, doing framing work without required fall and eye protection. The agency initiated the inspections under its National Emphasis Program for Falls and Regional Emphasis Program on Falls, Scaffolds and Electrocutions from Overhead Power Lines in Construction.OSHA inspectors cited the Wellsville company for six instance-by-instance repeat violations for
Post a Comment
Read more

Proper planning, safeguards could have prevented New Bedford dock collapse, US Department of Labor inspection finds

-
Proper planning, safeguards could have prevented New Bedford dock collapse, US Department of Labor inspection finds BRAINTREE, MA – A Connecticut marine and heavy construction contractor could have prevented the October 2023 collapse of a 200-foot section of pier on Hervey Tichon Avenue in New Bedford — which plunged five workers into the Acushnet River and injured two of them — by adhering to legally required safety standards, a U.S. Department of Labor inspection has determined. Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found that Mohawk Northeast Inc. of Plantsville did not determine if the pier’s walking and working surfaces had the strength and structural integrity to support employees safely with the weight of materials and equipment on it. OSHA issued the company a willful citation and assessed $161,323 in proposed penalties.The agency also proposed an additional $53,004 in penalties for four serious violations related to potential fall, drowning and struck-by ha
Post a Comment
Read more