OSHA cites Florida contractors for trench safety violations at sewer and excavation sites
In a span of one week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found two Florida contractors willfully endangering employees by failing to follow required trench safety measures—one of the deadliest hazards in the construction industry.
On May 28, OSHA inspectors observed workers employed by Masci General Contractor Inc. installing a sewer line in a 6-foot-deep, 40-foot-long trench near International Speedway and Atlantic Avenue in Daytona Beach. The trench lacked essential cave-in protections, such as shoring or trench boxes. Inspectors immediately removed the workers from the trench, and OSHA later issued a willful citation to the company for failing to protect employees.
Days later, inspectors encountered similar violations in Jacksonville, where K T Carter Contracting Inc. workers were found in a 12-foot-deep trench on Imeson Park Boulevard, also without cave-in protections. OSHA intervened to remove the workers and issued a willful citation to the company.
“Exposing workers to unprotected trenches puts their lives at serious risk,” said OSHA Area Director Scott Tisdale in Jacksonville, Florida. “In a matter of seconds, a trench wall can collapse, burying workers under tons of soil, leading to life-altering injuries—incidents that are completely preventable with the right safety measures in place. In these cases, we are fortunate that our inspectors were able to intervene before a tragedy occurred, rather than responding to one afterward.”
Both contractors were also cited for serious violations, including failing to provide a safe means of entering or exiting the trenches and placing spoil piles too close to excavation edges, which created additional hazards.
OSHA proposed penalties of $216,633 for Masci General Contractor and $146,803 for K T Carter Contracting, totaling over $360,000. The citations were issued on Nov. 13, 2024. The companies have 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
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