N.Y. Scaffold Law Gets Support From Safety Group

By Floyd Arthur

Weighing in on an ongoing controversy, a nonprofit safety group in New York state has spoken out in favor of the N.Y. Scaffold Law. The group, the Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health, released a report on Jan. 25, 2016, reaffirming its support of the law, stating that it provides essential protections for construction employees and citing the high rate of OSHA  violations at construction sites.

What Is the N.Y. Scaffold Law?

Enacted in 1885, the N.Y.Scaffold law (Labor Law 240/241) holds employers, property owners and contractors liable for any gravity-related injury that occurs on the job. What this means is that, in almost all cases of fall-related injuries, employers are deemed to be legally at fault.

According to opponents of the Scaffold Law, employers are liable even if the injured employee failed to follow proper safety protocols or use safety equipment provided by the employer. Defenders of the law disagree, claiming that it doesn’t impose absolute liability, but, instead, holds employers and contractors accountable when they fail to provide appropriate safeguards to protect their employees.

Why Is the N.Y. Scaffold Law So Controversial?

The controversy regarding the Scaffold Law has been heating up since a bill to repeal the law was introduced by State Senator Patrick M. Gallivan in 2012. On one side of the issue are advocates of “tort reform” and construction industry leaders, who believe the law unfairly targets employers and allows employees to recover damages for accidents that were, to some extent, their fault.

According to Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, a self-described “nonpartisan coalition of hardworking New York business leaders, professionals, taxpayers, and citizens,”  the law creates “perverse incentives” for workers, discouraging them from preventing on-the-job injuries because employers are always at fault. This, he claims, actually increases the rate of workplace injuries rather than decreasing them. Advocates of the law have repeatedly asserted that this often-repeated claim is unsubstantiated by facts.

On the other side of the issue are union leaders, employee advocates and trial lawyers, who say that New York’s Scaffold law protects workers when employers fail to have appropriate safety measures in place. Further, they state, by virtually eliminating any legal defense against an injured worker’s claims, the law encourages quick settlements and ensures that injured workers do not suffer financial hardship as claims are litigated in court.

Furthermore, according to Josie Duffy, spokesperson for the Center for Popular Democracy, which supports the law, employers have an absolute right to be heard. “Nothing happens automatically in this law, and you can’t even be taken to court unless you’re breaking the law in the first place…What absolute liability means is that you have to pay for the costs of the injuries … and that’s only going to happen if you’re breaking the law,” she explained in an interview with the Legislative Gazette.

Is the N.Y.Scaffolding Law Necessary?

Regardless of what side of the issue you’re on, the need to protect workers in high-risk occupations from devastating injuries is abundantly clear. According to OSHA, 4,679 workers were killed on the job in 2014, a little more than 13 deaths every day. Over 20 percent of these deaths occurred in the construction industry, where the leading cause of death is falls.

Equally as concerning are the number of safety violations that occur on construction sites. According to the WNYCOSH report, OSHA investigators found at least one safety violation in 83 percent of its inspections of construction sites in a 10-county area around Buffalo New York in 2014. Eighty-two percent of these were classified as “serious.”

What’s more, WNYCOSH says, OSHA does not have enough inspectors to adequately enforce existing regulations, and conducted only one inspection per weekday in 2014. Additionally, the average penalty of $1,963 per violation is “too little to effectively deter construction employers from taking safety shortcuts that endanger their workers,” the group asserts.

OSHA penalties are set to increase nationwide by up to 80 percent, to a maximum of $12,500 per serious violation, in August 2016.

Workplace safety is a major concern for employers, the vast majority of whom do everything in their power to keep their workers safe. Nevertheless, accidents do occur, and having enough of the right kind of insurance is the best way to protect your business from financial ruin. Don’t wait for tragedy to strike to ensure that your protection is up to date; let our insurance experts help you optimize your coverage now. Just call us at 516-292-3780 to set up an appointment for your insurance review, or request a free consultation online today.