US Labor Department finds 6 New York, New Jersey construction employers exposed workers to safety hazards, assesses combined $648K in penalties

MONROE, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor has cited six construction employers for willful and serious safety violations involving excavation hazards at the site of a planned 408,000 square-foot mixed-use commercial building and proposed a combined $648,094 in penalties. The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration responded to an allegation of struck-by and collapse hazards associated with a large excavation at the Monroe Commons project – also known as Magna Square development – a planned 4-story, approximately 408,000 square-foot mixed-use commercial building with retail, office space, and a 39-room hotel located on an 18-acre site. The excavation had a steep, unstable embankment nearly 75 feet high which was not adequately sloped or shored. OSHA issued a total of 23 serious and five willful citations to the project’s general contractor and five subcontractors for failing to protect employees from cave-in, struck-by, and chemical hazards; neglecting to shield employees from falling or rolling rock and soil from an excavation face; and not ensuring daily inspections of excavations were conducted by a competent person. Advanced Plan and Build LL...