The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a New York company for several workplace safety violations. The company, Heng Wei Construction Inc. has been cited for 11 alleged violations of workplace safety standards.
The citation came after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted inspections of the construction worksite in Manhattan. The investigation was opened after an Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection found that an employee at the company was operating an unguarded grinder. The employee was also not wearing any protection as required by OSHA Guidelines.
The inspection also focused on a lot of other construction safety hazards at the worksite. These hazards included wrongly plugged equipment lying on the sidewalk, and exposed circuit breaker panels. The construction company also failed to have a competent person on site to inspect the site for construction workplace safety hazards, and to train workers to avoid hazards. The contractor faces more than $44,000 in fines.
New York’s construction industry has been under a cloud this year after a string of serious and fatal accidents that have already claimed several lives. For construction accident attorneys in New York, the unfortunate truth has always been that these accidents are so preventable. A construction worksite is home to more serious hazards than most other worksites, but most of these can be prevented if employees and contractors follow guidelines by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Unfortunately, following these guidelines very often requires an investment in money, and many construction companies choose not to invest in these measures.