Mass. panel urges jail time for employers’ safety failures

A legislative panel in Massachusetts is recommending that company officials face criminal charges if they have recklessly failed to protect workers who are killed on construction sites, according to a published report.

“The prospect of criminal convictions and jail time send a powerful and necessary message to companies that might not be deterred by a fine,” the report says.

The legislative panel has been reviewing worksite safety since a scaffolding collapse in downtown Boston in April killed two construction workers and a passing motorist. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed a $119,000 fine against the company that employed the scaffold workers.

The report also says the state should require regular inspections of worksites with scaffolds.

But the state Board of Building Regulations and Standards says a 1994 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling gave jurisdiction for workplace safety to the federal government.

The report maintains the Massachusetts court decision does not apply to scaffolds.