The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited two Rhode Island contractors after inspectors said the companies exposed employees to cave-in and struck-by hazards in a trench over the summer.
According to the report, Reyes Landscaping, Inc. and TRD Contracting LLC face $75,000 in penalties after failing to correct hazards identified by OSHA inspectors. Inspectors said when they arrived at a sewer installation site in July, employees were working in a trench between five and eight feet deep without cave-in protection. Inspectors found nobody with knowledge and authority to identify hazards inspected the trench before the employees began working. Employees did not have helmets, nor an adequate ladder.
OSHA cited the companies after changes were not made five days after returning to the excavation site.
