Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth and the Town Board unanimously passed a law to bolster worker safety at construction sites during the recent Oct. 21 Town Board meeting.
“This new law will ensure that all individuals performing construction work in North Hempstead do so safely,” said Bosworth. “It is so important that essential safety training is required on all construction sites to help prevent injuries. Employees must have a safe workplace, and that includes construction sites.”
The new amendment to the local law requires contractors involved in construction on a minor site of more than 35,000 square feet to ensure that on-site employees have successfully completed and maintained a current Occupational Safety and Health Administration 30-hour class certificate. The certificate provides 30 or more hours in construction industry safety and health.
For major construction sites that are more than 50,000 square feet in size, a Site Safety Designee will be required. The Site Safety Designee will have completed an OSHA 100-hour class. They will also be responsible for ensuring each employee onsite has an OSHA 30-hour class certificate.
“The Town of North Hempstead is taking a historic step to protect construction workers on Long Island,” said Steve Flanagan, business manager and secretary treasurer of Laborers Local 66. “No one should go to work unsure if they will return home at the end of the day – but sadly too many construction workers face this fear every day because they lack the training to keep them safe on the job. Thank you, Supervisor Bosworth and the Town Council Members, for your leadership and commitment to ensuring safe jobs in construction.”
The safety requirements will be enforced by the town, and contractors who are in violation of these requirements may be fined.
