Labor Law §240(1) imposes a nondelegable duty upon contractors, owners, and their agents to provide necessary safety devices to protect workers from risks inherent in elevated work sites. When an injury occurs on or as a result of a permanent staircase, there is a marked split in the case law of the First and Second Appellate Departments, who have reached starkly different conclusions on the issue of whether a permanent stairway is an elevated work platform or safety device protected under §240(1).

First Department

The First Department has repeatedly established that for the purposes of §240(1) liability permanent staircases are elevated work sites and, in some cases, safety devices.