Photo by tup wanders, CC BY 2.0
In March 2013, Flintlock Construction was building a hotel at a Manhattan construction site known as the 325 Project. OSHA inspectors visited the site and delivered three separate scaffolding violations that added up to a total of $249,920 in OSHA fines. Flintlock Construction immediately filed an appeal and that appeal was heard in July 2015.
Read moreBack in March, construction industry group members and leaders strongly opposed a final rule issued by OSHA that requires greater protections for workers against silica dust, citing high costs versus minimal safety improvements. This month has pitted the Department of Labor (DOL) against the construction groups.
Read moreAs we’re all aware, construction is a dangerous occupation, but just like any business decision, it’s hard to figure out how to solve the problem without having data for back up. OSHA has just released a final rule for employers in high risk industries, including construction, which requires companies to make injury data available to not only OSHA, but the general public.
Read morePhoto by Jon, CC BY-SA 2.0
We have all seen those “No Trespassing” signs prohibiting access to construction sites, but few may be aware of both the meaning and the specifics of the law applicable to these words.
Read moreRecently, we learned that knowingly putting your employees in danger can land contractors a prison sentence of two years for involuntary manslaughter. Well, OSHA doesn’t take too kindly to being lied to either.
Read moreThe U.S. Department of labor has proposed an update to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage policy that would affect nearly 5 million workers in 2016. The purpose of the policy is to require employers to pay their employees overtime rates for any hours worked over 40 per week.
Read morePhoto by Joe P, CC BY SA 2.0
You’ve probably heard the commercials about it hundreds of times by now, but Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that is most commonly caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos. It is estimated that those who develop mesothelioma only have a 10 month survival time, as the disease is nearly always fatal. In 1989, the United States and the Environmental Protection Agency effectively banned the vast majority of all asbestos containing material. Surprisingly, a court of appeals overturned the ban and there are still more than a few building materials not banned from using asbestos, including roofing felt, cement shingles, millboard, cement pipe, and roof coatings.
Read moreThe photo above shows a trench rescue by the Charlotte, NC fire department in 2011. Photo by Charlotte Fire Department, CC BY 2.0
Properly shoring trenches require a lot of extra room, time and money on job sites. Because of that, many contractors try to cut corners and skip the shoring, but doing so can have fatal consequences. We recently wrote about trench safety and a neat tool that makes it very easy, which you can find here.
Read moreEmployee handbooks not only let your employee what you expect of them, it can also protect your company from legal issues. If your company does not currently have a handbook or you're looking to update your existing one, be sure to continue reading.
Read moreGeneral Contractors are often tasked with being everywhere at the same time and OSHA takes no exception to that. OSHA’s directive number CPL 2-0.124 states that on any multi-employer worksite, multiple companies can be held liable for the same OSHA infraction, even the “controlling” entity (read: General Contractor) even if they didn’t cause the infraction.
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