The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into a settlement agreement with a New Jersey building contractor who allowed its subcontractors’ employees to work in close proximity to high-voltage power lines at a Paterson work site in 2021 and 2022.
The litigation followed inspections by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the fall of 2021 and in spring of 2022 that found Litana Development Inc. of Wayne was allowing workers employed by four subcontractors to be exposed to potentially deadly electrical hazards. The subcontractors were Prata Construction LLC of Denville, Konopka Construction Inc. of Hillside, Freitas Construction LLC of Carteret, and Elite Brothers Construction LLC of Paterson.
In its 2021 inspection, OSHA said it found Litana, acting as the general contractor, permitted workers to erect scaffolds and work between five and seven feet from live power lines. OSHA issued two willful citations to Litana and two willful citations to subcontractors. Inspectors returned on multiple occasions in 2022 and said they found workers again exposed to the same hazards.
OSHA obtained a temporary restraining order in federal court, and subsequently a consent injunction, in which Litana and its subcontractors were ordered by the court to stop all work within 11 feet of the power lines. The agency then issued Litana three more willful citations for the 2022 violations. Ultimately, to continue construction and remove the workers from the hazard, the company had the power lines moved across the street.
“This case came about because the employer chose to start working without regard to protecting their workers,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Richard Mendelson in New York. “This settlement holds Litana Development Inc. responsible for its failures and will make the company’s job sites safer for the people who work at them.”
The agreement states that Litana must employ enhanced abatement measures that include retaining a qualified safety professional to complete a job hazard analysis for all existing and future worksites.
Source: OSHA
Topics Workers' Compensation
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