Long Island Construction Company Sentenced for Worker Safety Violation Causing Death of Employee

Northridge Construction Corporation was sentenced today in federal court for violating a worker safety standard, which caused the death of one of its employees, and for making two false statements obstructing a federal agency's subsequent investigation.

U.S. District Court Judge Joan M. Azrack for the Eastern District of New York sentenced Northridge to pay a fine of $100,000 and serve a five-year term of probation, which will require, among other conditions, increased safety training for Northridge employees. The company pleaded guilty in January.

According to court records, in December 2018, during the construction of a shed on Northridge's property in East Patchogue, New York, one of its employees fell from an improperly secured roof and died. Among other worker safety standards, Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations require always maintaining the stability of a metal structure during construction. An investigation revealed that Northridge failed to adhere to the structural stability standard, and that Northridge employees made false statements to obstruct the ensuing federal inquiry into the death. Northridge supervisor Richard Zagger pleaded guilty in July to related charges and is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 16.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) made the announcement.

The Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.

Senior Trial Attorneys Daniel Dooher and Richard J. Powers and Trial Attorney Rachel Roberts of ENRD's Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.