Safety News: Week of October 26

This week: six-figure excavation penalties in New York, criminal charges over a trench death in San Francisco, a fatal skylight fall in Washington, a new head-protection standard, and a contractor cited for the sixth time in under two years. The thread through all five: known hazards, uncomplicated fixes.

$648,094 proposed over a 75-foot excavation in New York. Federal OSHA announced October 13 that it had cited six employers at the Monroe Commons project in Monroe, New York. The excavation ran 21 to 75 feet deep, with a steep, nearly 75-foot embankment that had not been adequately sloped or shored. The agency issued 23 serious and five willful citations covering cave-in, struck-by, fall, and chemical hazards, plus no engineer-designed protection and no daily competent-person inspections. The largest penalties went to general contractor Advanced Plan and Build LLC ($175,444), The Paving Masters LLC ($188,684), and Parkstone/Obstacle Systems as Drip Drop Waterproofing ($198,615). On a dig this deep, engineer design and daily competent-person inspection are not optional — and each employer on a multi-employer site answers for its own workers. If your crews work below grade, take a look at our excavation and trench safety training before the next job starts.

Manslaughter charges filed over a San Francisco trench death. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced October 19, 2026, that D’Arcy & Harty Construction Inc. and three of its people face criminal charges over the death of 25-year-old Javier Romero, buried when a trench collapsed September 28, 2023, on a sewer project near Oak and Divisadero streets. Prosecutors say Romero was in a trench about two and a half feet wide, five feet long, and eight feet deep when the ground gave way as a heavy vehicle drove past; he died of mechanical asphyxia under sandy soil. Prosecutors say the trench’s short sides had no support, the longer sides were only partly supported, and the company had received a complaint about another inadequately supported trench less than three weeks earlier. Each defendant — safety representative John Darcy, project manager John Tobin, and foreman Filiberto Poblano Perez — faces one count of involuntary manslaughter and four counts of violating a safety standard resulting in death; Cal/OSHA’s investigation had already produced $371,100 in penalties. When trench protections are skipped and someone dies, the consequences are no longer limited to citations. Equipment World reported the charges.

Roofer dies in a 25-foot fall through an unguarded skylight. Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries cited Union Gap roofer Leslie & Campbell Inc. $48,803 after a worker fell more than 25 feet through a skylight onto a warehouse concrete floor in Wapato. The agency found the skylight unguarded, the skylights never identified as a fall hazard, and workers inadequately trained on the danger. The April 21 incident drew the citation September 8; the company is appealing. It is one of five roofing citations totaling more than $440,000 that Washington issued over four months for fall-protection violations. Treat every skylight as a hole in the floor: cover it, guard it, or mark it, and train the crew first — most skylights will not hold a person’s weight. Our fall protection training covers skylight and opening protection along with harness use. Washington L&I reported the citation.

New head-protection standard: ANSI/ISEA Z89.1-2026. The International Safety Equipment Association has released the first major revision of the head-protection standard in over a decade. The 2026 edition keeps the Type and Class system but adds optional Type I+ and Type II+ designations for helmets tested for stronger retention, chin-strap performance, and broader impact protection. It also sets testing protocols for chin-strap retention, helmet stability, multi-directional and off-center blows, and reverse-position wear. The update follows OSHA’s 2023 push toward safety helmets: old-style hats too often come off in a fall and protect mainly against blows from above, while Type II helmets guard the front, back, and sides. One caution before you buy: OSHA’s rules incorporate specific editions by reference, so check which edition your program and purchasing specs cite rather than assuming the newest automatically applies. If you are updating your head protection, our personal protective equipment training covers helmet selection, including the new Type I+ and Type II+ ratings. AsphaltPro reported on the standard.

Sixth fall-protection citation in under two years: $317,587. Oregon OSHA fined Beaverton contractor Luka’s General Construction LLC $317,587 after finding roof workers at a Molalla two-story house wearing full-body harnesses connected to no anchor, exposed to falls of up to 19 feet. The company had no fall-protection system, though Oregon requires one wherever workers face a fall of six feet or more; the ladder did not extend three feet above the roof, and the company had no records showing workers were trained to recognize fall hazards. The fall-protection and ladder violations were each the company’s sixth citation for those requirements in less than two years ($167,294 and $138,146), plus $12,147 for training records — and under Oregon’s rules, repeat offenses multiply the penalty. The company has corrected the fall and ladder violations and appealed. A harness that is not tied off is decoration, not protection, and every uncorrected citation makes the next one more expensive.

Need help with training or compliance? 1stamericansafety.com has you covered — and browse past updates in our Safety News archive.

Sources: ISHN reported on the Monroe Commons excavation citations. Equipment World covered the San Francisco trench charges. Washington L&I issued the roofing fall citations. AsphaltPro and Roofing Contractor covered the updated head-protection standard. Oregon OSHA reported the Luka’s General Construction citations.