Construction safety issues that go unreported put lives in danger. It is up to the worker to report what he or she believes is an illegal or dangerous act by the employer. In many cases, whistleblowers are more effective than regulation when it comes to rooting out illegal activity by employers.
A whistleblower is a person who comes forward and publicly alleges that an individual, company or organization has defrauded the United States government or a state government. In short, a whistleblower reports fraud or violations of law when no one else does. There are many people on the typical construction site who are in a position to report construction fraud and safety violations, including laborers, safety engineers, resident engineers, foremen, floor people, superintendents, quality control inspectors, business analysts, billing supervisors and accountants, to name a few.
Some construction site violations that whistleblowers have reported include:
- Failing to follow OSHA safety requirements and creating an unsafe work environment
- Using non-union labor when the construction contract requires union labor
- Failing to pay proper wages under the contract wage rate
- Billing for labor and materials, work or equipment that was not used on the job
- Falsification of minority business ownership requirements
- Falsely claiming to use green building products
- Falsification of energy certification or Title 24 standards
Have you or someone you know suffered injuries on a construction site?
Colson Hicks Eidson – Florida injury lawyers
