$58K Fine Against Morris Contractor For Putting Trench Workers In Danger

RANDOLPH, N.J. – A Morris County contractor has been hit with a $58,800 fine after allegedly endangering its workers by not protecting while working in an 8-foot deep trench.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known as OSHA, issued a willful and a serious violation citation against Yannuzzi Group, Inc., of Kinnelon after an October 2015 investigation that showed the company did not protect its workers.

While work was being done on Calais Road and Sussex Turnpike, a Randolph Township Division of Sewer and Water employee delivered trench protection to the Yannuzzi Group after observing the company employees working in the trench without safety protection, OSHA said. “However, the company chose not to use it. OSHA inspectors confirmed Yannuzzi failed to use an adequate protective system to prevent its workers from being injured if the trench caved in, resulting in the willful citation,” the agency said.

The total penalties levied against Yannuzzi come to $58,800.

“Randolph Township provided trench protection at the job site, yet Yannuzzi Group deliberately decided not to use it. The company’s action is intolerable. Yannuzzi needlessly jeopardized worker safety by choosing not to implement basic measures to prevent cave-ins,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office in a statement. “The fatality rate for excavation work is 112 percent higher than the rate for general construction. Trench protection systems are more than a required OSHA safety standard; they are a matter of life and death.”