{"id":12323,"date":"2023-01-27T10:38:39","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T18:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/nys-carlos-law-hikes-penalties-for-jobsite-safety-crimes\/"},"modified":"2023-01-27T10:38:39","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T18:38:39","slug":"nys-carlos-law-hikes-penalties-for-jobsite-safety-crimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/nys-carlos-law-hikes-penalties-for-jobsite-safety-crimes\/","title":{"rendered":"NY\u2019s Carlos\u2019 Law hikes penalties for jobsite safety crimes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/files\/membership-default-internal\/\" class=\"memberhide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/01\/20220718_175041000_iOS.jpg\" alt=\"-\"><\/a><br\/><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><span><span><span>Dive Brief:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The potential fine for criminally negligent contractors in New York state got a lot higher last month. Carlos\u2019 Law, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/news\/governor-hochul-signs-legislation-establishing-carlos-law\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>signed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> in late December, increases the penalty by 50 times (at a minimum) the judge can levy on an employer as a result of a worker&#8217;s death or injury.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The $10,000 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nysenate.gov\/legislation\/bills\/2021\/s621\/amendment\/b\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>fine for a felony has increased<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> to a minimum of $500,000 and a maximum of $1 million, and the $5,000 fine for a misdemeanor has increased to a minimum of $300,000 and a maximum of $500,000. The legislation also expands the definition of employees to include subcontractors and day laborers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The higher fine should only pose a concern to contractors who are negligent or reckless with worker safety, said attorney Elisa Gilbert, managing partner at The Gilbert Firm in New York City. Those with a strong safety culture likely won\u2019t face criminal charges, and therefore shouldn\u2019t fear the higher penalties, she said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><span><span><span>Dive Insight:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Under the new legislation, a contractor is guilty of criminal corporate liability for the death or injury of a worker when it negligently, recklessly, intentionally or knowingly causes the death or serious physical injury of its employees while they are on the job. The law is <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/how-much-construction-workers-life-worth-ny-bill-carlos-law\/627030\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>named for Carlos Moncayo<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, a 22-year-old undocumented worker who died in a 2015 trench collapse.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Following the collapse, a police officer with a construction background noticed that the trench had not been properly reinforced. Justice Kirke Bartley Jr. of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan found New York City general contractor Harco Construction <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/06\/11\/nyregion\/construction-company-guilty-of-manslaughter-in-immigrant-workers-death.html\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>guilty of second-degree manslaughter<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Harco was fined $10,000, which Cyrus R. Vance Jr., then-district attorney, referred to as \u201cMonopoly money.\u201d The low penalty caused an outcry among workers\u2019 advocates groups.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cConstruction workers are the engine that keeps our economy moving, and they deserve strong protections under the law,&#8221; Hochul said in announcing the law. &#8220;This legislation will add a new layer of accountability for safety protocols and will establish important protections for the individuals who do this vital, difficult, and often dangerous work.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>What it means for New York contractors<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Mike Elmendorf, president and CEO of Associated General Contractors\u2019 New York State chapter, said the employer group shares the goal of the bill, which is \u201cmaking sure truly bad actors are punished.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Nevertheless, Elmendorf said AGC NYS had concerns about the law, to which Hochul was responsive. An agreed-upon amendment will change the wording to apply to an injury of an \u201cemployee\u201d rather than \u201cworker,\u201d Elmendorf said. That change will likely broaden the interpretation of the bill, so each employer and subcontractor is responsible for their own employees, as opposed to the liability falling solely on the GC. It will also change the law from cases involving \u201cinjury\u201d to those with \u201cserious physical injury.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Should your average New York contractor be ringing the alarm bells? Not according to Gilbert.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThe impact of this on the average contractor should be no different than the current state of the law,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5143531171910809\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- News - Bottom -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5143531171910809\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"8320848692\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/nys-carlos-law-hikes-penalty-for-jobsite-safety-crimes\/641419\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dive Brief: The potential fine for criminally negligent contractors in New York state got a lot higher last month. Carlos\u2019 &#8230; <a title=\"NY\u2019s Carlos\u2019 Law hikes penalties for jobsite safety crimes\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/nys-carlos-law-hikes-penalties-for-jobsite-safety-crimes\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about NY\u2019s Carlos\u2019 Law hikes penalties for jobsite safety crimes\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}