‘Carlos’ Law’ Approved by Lawmakers

After spending years in legislative limbo, a bill that would significantly increase fines issued to construction companies found criminally liable for worker injuries or fatalities was passed by the Legislature last week.

Known as Carlos’ Law, for Carlos Moncayo, a construction worker killed on the job in 2015, the bill, which awaits Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature, would raise the maximum fine for criminal liability from $10,000 to no less than $500,000, or, in the case of a misdemeanor, no less than $300,000.

Michael Hellstrom, business manager of the Mason Tenders District Council, an umbrella labor organization representing 16,000 workers in New York, is hopeful the increase in fines will curb what he sees as something of an “epidemic” of tragic, and in many cases preventable, accidents in the construction industry.

“We knew that the number had to be a meaningful number,” Hellstrom said of the increase in fines. “This bill is targeted towards the rogue developers and the nefarious operators that are out here in the construction industry that would put profits over life.” Read more in The Chief Leader.