Construction companies feel wrath of OSHA for violations

• Some of the nation’s largest contractors faced major OSHA fines in this year’s second quarter.
• R Construction Civil LLC in Buffalo, Texas, was fined $257,822 for repeatedly failing to follow workplace safety procedures during excavation work, which ultimately contributed to a worker’s death.
• Goldstar Excavation and Sewer, a Keenesburg, Colorado-based utility contractor,  allegedly exposed workers to hazardous trenching conditions and was fined $206,698.
• United Custom Homes LLC, a framing contractor in Oswego, Illinois, was fined $151,260 after it allegedly exposed carpenters to falls of up to 21 feet without protection.
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More help for Nevada workers?

• Employees who work outside have no protections in state law in Nevada, but more regulations may be coming soon.
  Several Western states, including California and Washington, have adopted rules that require employers to provide adequate water, shade and breaks in extreme heat.
• Nevada is not one of them, after an effort to mandate such protections at the legislative level stalled this year, but state officials say such regulations are currently being drafted.
• Instead of specific heat regulations, employers must currently adhere to the ‘general duty’ clause, which requires them to provide a work environment free from recognized hazards, which can include heat.
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OSHA signs pact in North Dakota

• OSHA and the North Dakota Safety Council renewed an alliance that provides employers and workers with information, training resources, and guidance on preventing workplace hazards.
• The alliance focuses on common hazards in North Dakota’s trenching and excavation, construction, grain handling, warehousing, and oil and gas industries.
• The two sides will continue to develop training and education programs using injury, illness, and hazard exposure data to help protect North Dakota workers.
• Participants will share information on OSHA campaigns that encourage workplace safety and will promote an understanding of workers’ rights and employers’ responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
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Investigation after accident at Wolfspeed

• The N.C. Department of Labor opened an investigation after an employee was injured while working as a contractor at the headquarters of Wolfspeed in Ralegh.
• The name of the employee, and their health status, have not yet been made public. Wolfspeed is not included in the state inspection, Wilson said.
• The injured worker was employed by Southern Industrial Constructors Inc., a Raleigh company that proclaims to be “a leading provider of turnkey industrial construction and plant maintenance services” in the Southeast.
• The construction industry had the most workplace fatalities in North Carolina during the fiscal years of 2021, 2022 and so far in 2023, accounting for 56 of the state’s 197 workplace deaths.
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