Town proposing law to protect safety of workers at construction sites

The Island Now

In honor of Labor Day, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth and the Town Board have set a date for a public hearing to consider the adoption of a local law to bolster worker safety at construction sites.

“North Hempstead wants to ensure that all individuals performing construction work in the Town do so in a safe manner,” said Bosworth. “The goal of this proposed local law is to provide essential safety training to help prevent injuries. We believe that all employees should have a safe workplace, including construction sites.”

The amendment to the local law would require 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 safety requirements will be enforced by the town, and contractors who are in violation of these requirements may be fined. The public hearing for this law will be held at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 30.

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