New York WCB Issues Second Stop-Work Order At Niagara Falls Construction Site

Albany, NY  (CompNewsNetwork) - The New York Workers' Compensation Board has issued a Stop-Work Order to a Georgia-based subcontractor working at the same construction site where a worker was killed last month.

Board compliance officers today served the order on Joshua's Men Construction Co. of 1020 Worth Court, Riverdale, Georgia, which was performing masonry work at a hotel construction site along Niagara Falls Boulevard.

Workers' compensation law requires all businesses with employees to carry insurance to cover workers injured on the job. Reform legislation signed by Gov. Spitzer in March gives Board Chair Zachary S. Weiss the authority to close a noncompliant business until it receives an appropriate insurance policy.

"These Stop-Work Orders show all noncompliant businesses that the Board is serious about enforcing New York's workers' compensation laws," Weiss said. "Our diligence is meant to protect injured workers while ensuring that law-evading employers do not have an unfair competitive advantage over law-abiding businesses."

The Board in October ordered DEC Management Inc. of Athens, Georgia, to shut down operations in New York after a Board investigation determined it was operating in the state without a workers' compensation policy. The Board rescinded the order when DEC Management secured the proper coverage. DEC Management is not affected by the Stop-Work Order on Joshua's Men Construction.

The Board can now assess a business $1,000 for every 10 days it is out of compliance. A business can request reinstatement once it shows proof of workers' compensation coverage.

The Workers' Compensation Board equitably and fairly administers the provisions of the New York State Workers' Compensation Law on behalf of New York's injured workers and their employers. To report noncompliance, call 866-571-6729.