Industry Group Works to Weaken State’s Scaffold Law, Investigation Finds
- Skyline Restoration and affiliated companies are running a multi-front campaign to weaken or end New York’s 140-year-old Scaffold Law, which lets workers injured in falls from heights hold contractors and property owners directly liable, according to a Documented investigation. The law is one of the few remaining ways for severely injured workers to recover lost wages beyond workers’ compensation. Skyline did not respond to requests for comment.
- Skyline and allies argue that workers, lawyers and doctors are staging or inflating construction accidents in a “Fraudemic” that drives up building costs. Documented found little evidence of widespread fraud. In 2024, the state Workers’ Compensation Board received more than 8 million injury claims and found only 22 instances of fraud, 14 by claimants and eight by employers. Two RICO suits filed by Skyline-linked insurers Roosevelt Road Re, Tradesman Program Managers and Ionian Re against injury lawyers and doctors were dismissed on procedural grounds, and a third case, against attorney Nick Liakas, is ongoing. Liakas denies the allegations.
- The group is also funding research and building a media narrative. Studies cited by the group were commissioned by industry groups such as the Building Trades Employers’ Association, and one 2013 study was criticized by a Cornell professor as inaccurate. Former TV reporter Kristin Thorne, who aired a 2023 segment on staged accidents, now works for Roosevelt Road and hosted a podcast on the “Fraudemic” theory.
- On the legislative front, Skyline hired lobbying firm Gotham Government Relations in 2024 to push the Staged Accident Bill, which would make staging a construction accident a Class E felony. On May 20, a Skyline-affiliated company hosted Gov. Kathy Hochul and 50 industry stakeholders under signs reading “Scaffold Law Enables Fraud.” Skyline’s former CEO donated $2,000 to her campaign and an affiliate executive gave $5,000 in 2024. A source told Documented the governor may announce reform or repeal early next year, which her office denied, saying there is no proposal and that donations do not affect policy.
- Skyline itself has been cited by OSHA repeatedly, including a $25,194 fine after a 2019 fatal fall, seven serious violations in 2023 and a $29,036 penalty for a 2024 fall. Its subcontractor OneTeam Restoration’s owner pleaded guilty in a $7 million workers’ compensation insurance scheme. Assemblymember Diana Moreno and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health oppose weakening the law.
Court Upholds End of Temporary Total Disability Benefits Despite Worker’s Assertions
- The Wyoming Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court’s decision to uphold the termination of a worker’s temporary total disability benefits after finding that the worker’s challenge to the termination included only his own testimony and no backup expert opinions.
- The case, Martinez v. State ex rel. Department of Workforce Services, concerns a maintenance worker at a Cheyenne veterinary clinic, who was injured in March 2022 and diagnosed with lumbar and thoracic sprains and spasms. His treating physician placed him at maximum medical improvement (MMI) as of March 2, 2023, and an independent medical examiner agreed and rated 3% whole-person impairment.
- The division ended TTD on July 15, 2023, and awarded $5,642.28 in permanent partial impairment benefits. A second examiner also found MMI and rated 4% impairment, which added $1,880.76.
- The Medical Commission upheld the termination, noting Martinez offered only his own testimony against the medical opinions, and the Laramie County District Court affirmed.
- The Supreme Court held substantial evidence supported the MMI finding and that continued pain does not prevent MMI when further treatment is not expected to bring substantial improvement.
Conservatives Block Review of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Overhaul
- Progressive Conservative members on Ontario Territory’s Standing Committee on Government Agencies have blocked a motion to review the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and call its president, Jeff Lang, to testify.
- The Ontario Liberal Party brought the motion after the WSIB’s August announcement of a major restructuring that includes permanently closing 10 regional offices and affecting more than 700 jobs.
- Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser and Ontario Parliament member Stephanie Smyth spoke for the motion; Fraser said Lang should “take an hour of his time to answer their questions.”
- Wait times for incoming calls have ballooned past two hours, unassigned claims have surged thirty-fold, and the WSIB has begun re-hiring summer students to manage call volume, according to the report.
- Ontario Compensation Employees Union President Harry Goslin condemned the vote, saying wait times are reaching unheard-of levels while injured workers continue to wait for support.