Breese contractor, OSHA come to settlement in recent trench cave-in protection case

A Breese, Illinois, contractor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, have come to a settlement in connection with a case involving trench cave-in protection rules.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Labor, Groundworks Contracting Inc. of Breese was cited for not adhering to a city engineer’s instructions to use trench cave-in protection.

OSHA cited Groundworks Contracting for multiple violations and proposed penalties of $77,147, the release stated.

During an appeal hearing Wednesday, June 14, those penalties were reduced to $41,185, Scott Allen, regional director for media relations and public affairs for the U.S. Department of Labor in Illinois, confirmed.

“I can confirm that OSHA did have a settlement with Groundworks,” he said. “They did reduce the penalty amount to $41,185 and put them on a payment plan.”

Additionally, a violation regarding yearly safety forms Groundworks was to fill out was dropped. Jason Richter, company owner, said they filled out the forms but got them to OSHA too late.