Nos EUA. Empresários condenados/acusados por morte de trabalhador
Os desdobramentos jurídicos em casos de acidentes de trabalho tem se dado também nesse caminho da criminalização. As consequências para práticas de prevenção são polêmicas e incertas. No que se refere ao acesso a informações em processos de investigação essa possibilidade de criminalização não parece ajudar.
O debate ainda vai trazer novidades.
Conviction Upheld: DNRB, a Missouri warehouse construction contractor (doing business as Fastrack Erectors) was confirmed to be criminally liable for the fatal fall of an employee, according to the Eighth Circuit, affirming a previous guilty verdict. 22 year-old Eric Roach died July 25, 2014, after falling 30 feet from a building under construction. Roach had requested fall protection equipment on his first day on the job and even searched company vehicles and gang boxes for such equipment. DNRB was convicted under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Unfortunately, under the OSHAct, a criminal conviction has a maximum fine of $500,000 and is considered to be a misdemeanor. The court rejected arguments that there was not sufficient evidence at trial or that the punishment did not fit the crime.
OSHA had originally fined the company 511,000 in 2015, issuing seven willful and three serious safety violations and placed the company in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program. OSHA's inspection found that Fastrack Erectors violated its own safety manual and a signed contract with the site's general contractor, ARCO National Construction-KC Inc. The contract required subcontractor personnel who worked at heights higher than 6 feet to be provided with adequate fall protection.
And in other criminal news: SSC High Rise Inc., a New York contractor, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of carpenter Juan Chonillo, 44. Chonillo, a Queens father of five, fell 29 stories to his death on Sept. 21, 2017 while working at a luxury high-rise tower near the South Street Seaport in southern Manhattan. OSHA fined the company $23,282 for two serious violations. The manslaughter charges were brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. OSHA can only bring criminal prosecutions for work-related deaths that result in a willful violation. SSC High Rise also admitted to stealing more than $500,000 in overtime pay from 50 employees under-reporting $2 million in payroll according to the DA. The company "previously cut a deal in Manhattan Supreme Court and agreed to pay $842,000 in restitution, plus $10,000 in fines. The money will be returned to the cheated workers and to the New York State Insurance Fund." The $10,000 fine is the maximum allowed by the law. DA Cyrus Vance Jr is calling for increased penalties to provide meaningful, practical deterrence...to end these dangerous and unlawful practices.”
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