A Minnesota contractor has agreed to increase employee training on trenching hazards and pay a $380,000 penalty after reaching a settlement with OSHA.
Wagner Construction, a contractor who specializes in excavation, has agreed to pay the $380,000 penalty and provide immediate training on trenching and excavation hazards to its jobsite employees, managers and supervisors.
The settlement agreement follows three North Dakota job site inspections in 2019 and 2020 that found employees of the company exposed to excavation hazards, according to a Department of Labor news release.
In addition to the penalty and training, Wagner must also:
- hire a third-party safety consultant
- provide OSHA with addresses of all of its 2021 job sites to allow inspections for compliance with trenching standards
- form a corporate safety committee, and
- address safety issues during weekly supervisor meetings.
Wagner hired a full-time safety and compliance manager in July 2020 and has agreed to purchase new trench safety equipment for the 2021 construction season, the news release states.