Category: May 2022 Newsletter

OSHA Cites Construction Contractors After Bridge Collapse

A federal workplace safety investigation has determined that two companies failed to follow required safety standards that could have prevented a bridge collapse and spared the life of a 33-year-old worker on a demolition project in Georgia. OSHA investigators cited the project’s prime contractor – for not ensuring a competent…

Owner Gets 21 Months for Workers’ Comp Fraud Case

A Florida business owner was sentenced to federal prison for workers’ compensation fraud involving wire-fraud conspiracy. George Garcia, the owner of a Tampa-based construction company, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $126,200 acquired through the wire-fraud conspiracy. Garcia’s company supplied construction services and labor for…

Roofing Contractor Faces $793k in Penalties

OSHA initiated six inspections in southern New Jersey at five of the construction contractors’ work sites in 2021 in October and December, and in 2022 in January and March as part of the agency’s local emphasis program for fall hazards. In every inspection, OSHA found the company did not provide…

EPA Fines on the Rise

Inflation is on the rise, and so are air, water, and waste fine amounts that the EPA can assess. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act of 2015 made inflationary adjustments for environmental penalties the new reality for environmental compliance professionals. The EPA can now tack on a few…

Not Enough EPA Enforcement Investigators

The EPA says it’s making environmental criminal enforcement a priority, but the progress on the ground suggests the train is stalled. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) found that the EPA is short on investigators despite a major jump in funding. “Biden’s EPA is not going to reinvigorate criminal enforcement,…

String of Food Facilities Burning to the Ground

Are the fires and accidents at a dozen-plus food processing plants this year just an unfortunate coincidence – or potentially the result of terrorism? Consider that over the last few weeks, five major food distributors in four states were destroyed by explosions and fires. Accidents at more than 20 food…

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