Long Island Business News: Scaffold Law debate intensifies as Long Island costs climb
By: Jared Scot
The costs of development projects on Long Island have risen sharply in recent years due to stringent zoning requirements, increases in prices for materials and the effects of interest rate hikes. Industry leaders have also pointed fingers at New York State’s unique labor laws, blaming regulations that ensure legal accountability for construction accidents involving workers for another cost hurdle: The sky-high price of insuring building projects.
Marvin Rosen, an insurance advisor at Rampart Insurance Services in Uniondale, shares this sentiment, claiming that the law imposes too strict of a liability upon employers. “The reason construction insurance on Long Island is much more expensive than in other regions is because of Labor Law 240/241, also known as the Scaffold Law,” he asserts.
The Scaffold Law, which was passed in 1885, assigns full liability on builders, contractors, and commercial property owners for accidents involving falls at construction sites in New York.
“If a worker falls from a height, the contractor or property owner is automatically liable, regardless of negligence,” Rosen explains.
Other insurance experts have decried the law, perceiving it as unfair to employers, and local business groups, including Association for a Better Long Island (ABLI) and the Long Island Builders Institute (LIBI), have lobbied for a less draconian liability standard for property owners and construction firms.
However, amidst a chorus of criticism of the Scaffold Law, labor leaders and worker safety advocates are responding with rebuttals to the refrain often heard from prominent voices in construction who have pushed for its repeal.
Charlene Obernauer, director of New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), believes the Scaffold Law holds contractors and property owners accountable for hazardous working conditions that have led to numerous worker deaths, and that while the law does hold employers to high standards, it doesn’t automatically assign 100% liability to contractors or owners for accidents without consideration of circumstances.
“Courts still evaluate each case on its merits,” Obernauer notes. “Construction consistently ranks among the most dangerous industries, with objective OSHA data showing high rates of serious injuries and fatalities.”
According to NYCOSH’s 2025 “Deadly Skyline” report compiled by Obernauer, New York State saw a 48% increase in construction worker deaths in just one year, from 50 deaths in 2022 to 74 in 2023, with a fatality rate of 10.4 per 100,000 workers. Seven of those deaths in 2023 occurred on Long Island.
But the grim picture created by the data also illustrates vast differences between fatality rates among union and non-union construction workers. Of the 74 investigated construction worker fatalities in 2023, 77% occurred on non-union job sites. On Long Island, 86% of construction fatalities were on non-union job sites, according to the most recent data provided by NYCOSH.
Matthew Aracich, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties (AFL-CIO) warns that the higher rates of accidents among non-union workers could continue to push insurance prices skyward, since risk in the construction industry is gauged on the collective pool of labor, regardless of union affiliation. “When safety training, proper staffing and high-quality equipment are treated as optional rather than essential, the risk of catastrophic injury or death rises, and insurers price that risk into higher premiums,” he says. “Higher injury rates and frequent claims signal systemic risk, driving up costs for contractors and project owners across the industry.”
Continuing down this path could not only further endanger workers, it may also hurt construction recruitment by deterring job-seekers. “Unsafe conditions make it harder to recruit and retain skilled workers,” Aracich says. “Some hear horror stories about an accident and are less willing to enter or stay in an industry where injury or death feels like an accepted cost of doing business. This leads to labor shortages, overworked crews, and a reliance on less-experienced workers, which further increases accident rates.”
Despite the evidence of higher accident incidence among non-union workers, Rosen isn’t convinced that union membership correlates with safer job sites, yet he doesn’t dispel the importance of rigorous safety standards for construction projects.
“I believe that whether workers are union or non-union is not the cause of accidents,” Rosen says. “Extensive safety training for all employees is the key to preventing accidents. Safety training must be continuously emphasized to ensure all employees have a safe working environment.”
Obernauer believes the Scaffold Law has spurred more investment in worker safety through training requirements and equipment updates. “This reduces accident rates over time, which actually lowers insurance costs in the long run,” she says. “For Long Island’s business community, these laws mean competitive advantage for companies with strong safety records, protection from the false economy of cutting corners, and access to a skilled union workforce that delivers quality and efficiency.”
Aracich believes that to make construction safer, mandatory, union-quality safety training should be required for all workers regardless of immigration status, and worker protections and fines for violations should be increased.
“We want to see stronger enforcement of existing safety laws, higher penalties that include incarceration for the willful flagrant and repeat violators, as well as expanded funding for inspections and training,” Aracich says. “Protecting workers’ lives and health isn’t just a moral obligation, it’s the most effective way to bring down costs and build a sustainable construction industry in New York.”