Mike Neri Sewer and Water Contractor Banned from Excavating Work

The Illinois-based contractor was banned by a federal court for "refusing to abide by OSHA standards."

According to a news release from OSHA, a federal court has ordered that Mike Neri Sewer and Water Contractor of Elk Grove Village, Ill., no longer engage in trenching, excavation, construction, or related work after repeatedly exposing employees to trenching hazards. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the order.

"The court has sent a clear message that Mike Neri, like all businesses, has a legal and moral responsibility to protect workers on the job," said Nick Walters, regional administrator for OSHA in Chicago. "OSHA will pursue all avenues to ensure employers, such as Neri, who are recalcitrant and continue to violate safety standards, learn that the law will be upheld."

In April 2013, OSHA issued penalties for exposing workers to trenching hazards on a job site in Des Plaines on Oct. 3 and Oct. 11, 2012. Following this, the department pursued sanctions through the courts out of concern that Neri continued to violate OSHA trenching standards. After failing to comply with the order, Neri spent 23 days in federal jail in December 2014.

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