Florida Contractors Allegedly Exposed Workers to Cave-In Hazards

OSHA has issued citations and proposed penalties to three contractors for allegedly exposing workers to cave-in hazards at a Middleburg, Fla., work site, the US Labor Department said Friday.

An Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigator observed three Aquino Construction Inc. employees working in a trench installing casing around an existing sewer line. The trench allegedly was about eight feet deep, 55-feet-long, and nine feet wide, but lacked shoring or a trench box to prevent from cave-ins, according to the department.

The DOL also said an investigator allegedly saw a superintendent employed by KBT Contracting Corp., the project’s general ...