Carlos Moncayo was a 22-year-old construction worker who was killed in New York City when a trench he was working in collapsed. The Ecuadorian immigrant was part of a crew building a Restoration Hardware store in 2015. The 14-foot-deep trench he was working in caved in, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Now his name is attached to a bill that would increase fines for such incidents.
According to a New York Times article, the investigating officer on the scene was a former construction worker and recognized that the trench did not have the necessary safety precautions in place. An OSHA investigation followed, leading to the fines and convictions of Harco Construction LLC of New York City and subcontractor Sky Materials Corp. of Maspeth and Calverton, N.Y., for not providing cave-in protection for the trench. Both companies were indicted for manslaughter and other charges in New York.
"Carlos Moncayo was a person, not a statistic. His death was completely avoidable. Had the trench been guarded properly against collapse, he would not have died in the cave-in," Kay Gee, OSHA's area director in Manhattan, said at the time. "Managers from Harco and Sky Materials were aware of these deadly hazards and did not remove employees from the trench, even after warnings from project safety officials. This unconscionable behavior needlessly and shamefully cost a man his life."
Each company received the maximum fine: $140,000. The bill, Carlos’ Law, was approved by the New York Legislature and was sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office for signing. She has not yet signed the bill into law. She has until the end of the year to sign it.
The bill increases the fines on businesses that are found guilty of an offense involving the death or injury of a worker. The minimum was increased from $10,000 to $500,000 for felonies, and $300,000 for misdemeanor cases.
The fines were increased to try to reduce the number of construction injuries and deaths.
“This bill is targeted towards the rogue developers and the nefarious operators that are out here in the construction industry that would put profits over life,” Michael Hellstrom, business manager of the Mason Tenders District Council, an umbrella labor organization representing 16,000 workers in New York, said in response to the bill.
More than 70 construction workers have died on the job since Moncayo’s death in 2015. Construction has the highest number and rate of fatal work injuries of any industry, according to OSHA.
