NYC Building Department Looks to a New Safety Credentialing System
Construction work is right up there with the most dangerous jobs available, and New York City has its fair share of construction workers. This is one of the main reasons behind the NYC Department of Buildings’ decision to kick off a new safety credentialing system for all of those 150,000 construction workers out there. If you’ve been injured on the job as a construction worker, don’t wait to discuss your claim with an experienced NYC workers’ compensation attorney.
myComply
The City is looking to myComply – a tech company that focuses on the verification of safety training – to both build and administer the training credential database’s software. Ultimately, the new credentialing system will require all of the city’s 150,000-plus construction workers to have their own myComply smart badge connected to the program’s database. This will provide the city with training records that check all of the following boxes:
- Standardized
- Verifiable
- Attached to individual construction workers
The idea is that every construction worker will be programmed with his or her own worker’s account profile, which will include his or her safety-training credentials. If a worker with out-of-date, expired, or otherwise inadequate training credentials, that worker will be denied access – for safety reasons. Accidents on construction sites are often the result of one unsafe choice or decision that snowballs into a tragedy, and this more-thorough vetting process may help to ensure that fewer initial unsafe choices or decisions are made in the first place.
Seeking Compliance
Mayor Bill De Blasio seeks enhanced compliance with safety standards – in support of safer job sites – and toward this end, he signed Local Law 196 in 2017. If a Department of Buildings (DOB) site inspector turns up workers who lack the appropriate training on the job, the employer can face fines of up to $5,000 per worker. DOB is looking to myComply to help it keep track of compliance and to help ensure that construction workers receive the safety training they need to help keep worksites safer for everyone.
Consolidating Efforts
Once the system is fully in place, contractors will be able to verify that their construction workers are up to date with the appropriate safety training by scanning each one’s badge – or by searching the website. DOB inspectors, similarly, will have access to the database during their field visits. Ultimately, this frees contractors of the need to track their workers’ compliance themselves – and it should prove more effective.
Don’t Put off Consulting with an Experienced NYC Workers’ Compensation Attorney Today
If you are a construction worker who has been injured on the job, the trusted NYC workers’ compensation attorneys at Lipsig, Shapey, Manus & Moverman are on your side. We have a stellar track record of helping clients like you obtain the compensation necessary to move forward toward healing. For more information about how we can help you, please don’t wait to reach out by contacting or calling us at 212-285-3300 today.
