Roofing contractor DME Construction Associates Inc., Setauket, N.Y., entered into a settlement agreement with the Department of Labor to resolve willful safety violations found after an employee fell 18 feet through an unprotected skylight in August 2021 and suffered fatal injuries, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
An OSHA investigation found DME Construction Associates Inc. exposed workers to falls of up to 22 feet at unguarded roof openings and roof edges at an Oyster Bay, N.Y., worksite and failed to provide personal fall-protection equipment to employees.
The settlement affirms all citations issued to DME Construction Associates, including nine willful violations, eight of which were egregious per-instance citations for the company’s failure to provide fall protection for each of the eight employees who were working on the roof.
The settlement agreement states DME Construction Associates must pay a $600,000 penalty and implement enhanced measures to improve worker safety, including developing a comprehensive written company safety plan; ensuring and documenting there is enough fall-protection equipment for every worker on every job site; notifying OSHA of all upcoming jobs at least a week in advance; permitting warrantless entry by OSHA at all worksites; and requiring all DME Construction Associates supervisors to complete OSHA’s 30-hour construction safety training.
DME Construction Associates and owner Peter Chardon pleaded guilty in November 2025 to a criminal violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act related to the fatality.
