Massachusetts Contractor’s License Revoked for Repeated Safety Violations
William Trahant also failed to pay more than $300,000 in penalties.
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- Jan 10, 2024
In response to a complaint from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards has stripped William Trahant of his construction supervisor's license for a minimum of two years.
According to the DOL release dated Jan. 8, the complaint cited seven instances since 2014 where Trahant's company, the Lynn, Massachusetts-based William Trahant Jr. Construction Inc., violated federal fall safety regulations. He also failed to pay more than $300,000 in associated penalties.
The Regional Solicitor’s Office and OSHA in Boston presented the evidence against Trahant, with the board’s hearing officer issuing a decision revoking Trahant's license on Nov. 17, 2023. The hearing officer mandated Trahant to surrender his license, halting any work on active building permits until a successor is appointed or Trahant regains his license.
OSHA estimates that Trahant presently holds active building permits in at least five communities throughout Massachusetts, where he held hundreds of permits between 2020 and 2022.
“Employers must never overlook the importance of worker safety, especially when it comes to protecting construction industry workers from falls from elevation,” OSHA Regional Administrator Galen Blanton in Boston said in a statement. “William Trahant’s continued failure to protect his employees from the industry’s leading cause of death led the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards to take decisive action.”
The inspections were conducted by OSHA’s Andover area office, with the Department’s Office of the Solicitor in Boston handling the case. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts mandates construction supervisor’s licenses for specific projects, with the authority to revoke them when holders fail to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.