DOB to require 30 hours of safety training for major construction sites in NYC

The city’s Buildings Department is taking steps toward safer construction sites.
There have been eight fatalities at construction sites across the city this year alone, according to the Department of Buildings.
To prevent that, the department offers safety training. But in less than two months, workers at all major construction sites across the city will be required to pass additional training.
Workers at large construction sites are currently only required to have 10 hours of safety training. As of Dec. 1, they'll be required to have 30 hours. By September 2020, the workers will be required to have 40 hours.

The Department of Buildings says of the estimated 45,000 construction sites across the city, about 8,600 sites are impacted.
It is also now requiring new multilingual signs at all sites.
The DOB says that prior to Local Law 196, which passed in 2017, there was no legally required training. This new training highlights things like using lifeline harnesses correctly, ensuring there’s proper netting and railing up, keeping the site clear of debris and a slew of other things that will ultimately keep the men and women safe.

"Safety training is the best way to prevent incidents on a worksite, and when we all buy in to the same site from top to bottom every worker goes home safer,” says DOB Commissioner Melanie La Rocca.
For each untrained worker, the site will get hit with a $15,000 penalty.