When Is a Hole a Violation of the Labor Law?

The New York Labor Law is riddled with subtle nuances. Understanding these nuances can mean the difference between early dismissal and a finding of liability. One such subtlety involves application of Labor Law 240(1) and centers on what one, at first glance, could consider to be insignificant, that is, the definition of a hole.

Labor Law §240(1) affords protection to construction site workers who are exposed to elevation-related hazards. See Blake v. Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City Inc., 1 N.Y.3d 280, 287-90 (2003). Specifically, §240(1) provides, in pertinent part, the following:

All contractors and owners and their agents 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.