NY Roofing Contractor Fined $600k after Fatal Skylight Fall

A Long Island roofing contractor has been fined $600,000 as part of a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve safety violations found after an employee’s fatal fall.

In August 2021, an employee of DME Construction Associates Inc (DME) sadly died after falling 18 feet through an unprotected skylight.

An investigation by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that DME exposed workers to falls of up to 22 feet at unguarded roof openings and roof edges.

OSHA found that the employer failed to provide any personal fall protection equipment to employees at the Oyster Bay municipal building worksite where workers were replacing a steel roof decking.

The settlement affirms all citations issued to DME Construction Associates, including nine willful violations, eight of which were egregious per-instance citations for DME’s failure to provide fall protection for each of the eight employees who worked on the roof.

NY Roofing Contractor Fined

Under the agreement, DME must pay a $600,000 penalty and implement enhanced abatement measures to improve safety for workers, including developing a comprehensive written company safety plan, ensuring and documenting there is enough fall protection equipment for every worker on every jobsite.

The company must notify OSHA of all upcoming jobs at least a week in advance, permitting warrantless entry by OSHA at all worksites, and requiring all DME supervisors to complete OSHA’s 30-hour construction safety training.

DME Construction Associates and owner Peter Chardon await an April sentencing date after pleading guilty in November 2025 to a criminal violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act related to this fatality.

Learn more about protecting workers against falls.

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