Labor Law sec. 240(1) - New York's Scaffold Law

Section 240(1) of the Labor Law

The most frequent searches that lead to this blawg deal with the Labor Law. Therefore, I am including the text of the statute for your easy reference.

Scaffolding and other devices for use of employees.

1. All contractors and owners and their agents, except owners of one and
two-family dwellings who contract for but do not direct or control the
work, in the erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting,
cleaning or pointing of a building or structure shall furnish or erect,
or cause to be furnished or erected for the performance of such labor,
scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys,
braces, irons, ropes, and other devices which shall be so constructed,
placed and operated as to give proper protection to a person so
employed.
No liability pursuant to this subdivision for the failure to provide
protection to a person so employed shall be imposed on professional
engineers as provided for in article one hundred forty-five of the
education law, architects as provided for in article one hundred
forty-seven of such law or landscape architects as provided for in
article one hundred forty-eight of such law who do not direct or control
the work for activities other than planning and design. This exception
shall not diminish or extinguish any liability of professional engineers
or architects or landscape architects arising under the common law or
any other provision of law.

Comments

[TOM]

ACCORING TO THE ABOVE, A HOMEOWNER CAN NOT BE RESPONSIBLE MONATERALY FOR A INJURED WORKER ON A ROOF PROJECT IF THE ROOFING COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE ROOFERS INSURANCE AND THE INJURED WORKER IS AWARDED MORE THAN THE HOMEOWNERS HOME INSURANECE ALLOWS FOR?

[Shawn- Hofstra Law]

Tom- That is not what the statute entails. This statute imposes strict liability on general contractors and building owners when workers are injured as the result of a fall from a height. This means that even if the gen. contractor/building owner is 1% at fault for the worker's injury and the worker is 99% at fault, then the gen. contractor/building owner is entirely liable for the worker's damages.(pretty powerful law for workers!) The statute exempts single family homeowners from this strict liabilty, but it does not exempt them from normal tort liability. This means that a homeowner can still be held liable, just not under the same strict liabilty 240(1) standard as general contractors and building owners. Hope this answers your question.

-Shawn