Ecuadorian immigrant Carlos Moncayo was just 22 years old when he was buried alive on a construction site in Lower Manhattan while working in an unreinforced trench 14 feet deep. After his death in April 2015, Harco Construction was penalized on charges of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide.
BREAKING: NYS Senate just passed Carlos’ Law! With the Assembly and Senate both passing the bill, we are now set to go to the governor for a signature.
Named in honor of Carlos Moncayo, today we honor Carlos’ life and the lives of all lost to criminally negligent companies. pic.twitter.com/kpfwLB55Dz
— NYCOSH (@NYCOSH) June 2, 2022
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Carlos’s Law, drafted by the New York Legislature the year Moncayo died, was finally approved by both houses last week. The only thing missing is the signature of Governor Kathy Hochul for it to go into effect.
The law would increase the maximum fine for felony convictions of negligent organizations whose criminal conduct led to death or serious injury from $10,000 to $500,000. Additionally, the proposed increase for misdemeanors would change from $5,000 to $300,000.
Holding construction companies guilty of criminally negligent homicides accountable through these harsher penalties is intended to help protect the lives of construction workers who are subjected to dangerous conditions in New York, the state Legislature argued.
According to lawmakers, it is common for corporations or employers who do not follow or ignore safety protocols to write off workplace deaths as a cost of doing business because, prior to the Carlos Law, the average sentence generally only included a $1,000 fine.
The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) published its annual report in February on the rate of construction fatalities, “Deadly Skyline: An Annual Report on Construction Fatalities in New York State.” The report, which analyzed available data from 2020, found that the construction industry in both New York State and New York City remained much more dangerous than the rest of the country, despite widespread work stoppages. as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, in all of New York State, the construction fatality rate increased from 10.2 per 100,000 workers to 11.1, or a 9% increase. In 2020, construction worker fatalities accounted for 24% of all worker fatalities in New York State, while nationally they accounted for 21% of all worker fatalities.
In New York City, the construction fatality rate declined for the first time after three years of steady increases, but remains above the national average and represents 2% of worker fatalities. While more long-term data is needed to determine the causes behind this decline, the slowdown in construction caused by the pandemic likely played a role, the report said.
Latino construction workers remain disproportionately likely to die on the job in New York State. In 2020, Latino workers accounted for 18% of worker fatalities while making up only 10% of the state population. The report also found that non-union workplaces remain especially dangerous for workers, with 79% of worker deaths occurring in non-union workplaces.
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