On February 28, 2024, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, New York City Department of Investigation (NYC DOI) Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber, and New York City Department of Buildings (NYC DOB) Commissioner Jimmy Oddo announced the New York State Supreme Court indictment of Valor Security & Investigations (Valor). Valor is being convicted of falsifying training records and issuing fraudulent safety certificates & cards from December of 2019 to April of 2023.
“This case sends a strong message, that New York City takes construction safety seriously and those who make our city less safe will face consequences.” – DOB Commissioner Jimmy Oddo
Valor issued safety certificates to approximately 20,000 students. For a fee, varying from $300 to $600, Valor would certify the necessary 40 hours of safety training for those students without performing the training required to obtain those credentials. This is proving to be quite an elaborate scheme, with six Valor employees and executives, along with 19 individuals acting as brokers being involved. Valor, along with four other individuals, have been charged with endangering the life of Ivan Frias, who unfortunately died after an accident by failing to provide him the required training.
“In the construction industry, fraud can mean life or death – not only for the individuals working on the site, but for the general public that moves around them every single day” – District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg
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What does this mean for the construction industry in New York City (NYC)?
What can you do to be compliant with LL196 and avoid fines?
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What Does This Mean For The Construction Industry in New York City (NYC)?
This is a massive announcement and will have a major impact on the construction industry within NYC. Essentially, this means that there could be up to 20,000 workers in NYC who did not complete the necessary training and now possess a fraudulently obtained SST card. This not only means that there is an unqualified worker on your site, but also puts the safety of all other workers at risk.
Local Law 196 (LL196) requires workers and supervisors to conduct a certain volume of training in order to work on jobsites with a Site Safety plan. Workers must complete a minimum of 40 hours of training and supervisors must complete a combined 62 hours of training. NYC DOB approved training providers issue the cards and provide the necessary training to obtain these cards. Due to these allegations, Valor is at risk of losing their registration as a NYC DOB approved training provider. As a part of LL196, all workers must always have their SST card on their person. Failure to comply with LL196 will result in crippling fines of $5,000 to (1) the owner of the site, (2) the permit holder, and (3) the employer of the untrained worker. This totals $15,000 of fines for just ONE worker in non-compliance of LL196.
“If the training provider’s registration is permanently revoked, that would impact any worker that obtained an SST card from that course provider. A revocation of the training provider’s registration could potentially lead to the invalidation of all those SST cards that they have issued. Our message to anyone who has received an SST card from this training provider is to immediately get retrained.” – DOB Commissioner Jimmy Oddo
What Can You Do To Be Compliant with LL196 and Avoid Fines?
myComply gives General Contractors, Asset Owners, Construction Managers, and Specialty Subcontractors the ability to eliminate liability through a collection of tools specifically developed for New York City and Local Law 196.
Capture & Verify SST Validity – Workers SST Card and associated data is uploaded into the myComply platform, then it is verified daily against the New York City Department of Buildings (NYC DOB) Training Connect database.
Eliminate Risk of Fraudulent & Revoked Cards – myComply has a unique hardware and software platform that validates and verifies the SST ID and NFC chip daily in real time to ensure only real, valid SST cards are on the workers’ person and that the workers’ training is up to date.
Use Training Connect SST Cards as Access Control Cards/Badging – No need to purchase extra badges as you can have all workers using their SST Cards as approved project badges. This eliminates extra badge costs and ensures only workers who possess the required training gain access to your site.
“You see technology now that some construction sites where there is a gate, and you have to get through that gate to get on to the work site. We encourage that. Some developers are implementing a gating system where you have to use a valid card to tap the gate to actually get in to the work site.” – DOB Commissioner Jimmy Oddo
Auto-populate Local Law 196 Daily Training Logs – As a part of Local Law 196, the NYC DOB is mandating Daily Training Logs to enforce compliance on job sites. myComply’s software will automatically create these reports daily, displaying proof of issue, expiry, and ID data to meet these requirements.
Prevent Regulatory Fines – Avoid unnecessary fines and stop work orders by using myComply while ensuring safer worksites at the same time.
Worker Orientation Confirmation & Records – myComply provides General Contractors the ability to issue custom site-specific orientations and capture records that prove the orientation has been completed (with profile pictures and signatories – proving the worker was trained and what content they agreed they acknowledge and understand).
Local Law 196 is a critical piece of legislation that aims to improve safety on construction sites in New York City by requiring construction workers to complete additional safety training. The law has significant implications for both workers and employers in the construction industry, including increased safety for workers, cost and time implications for employers, and penalties for non-compliance. As the construction industry faces increased regulation and oversight, it is essential for employers to comply with Local Law 196 to avoid financial penalties and reputational damage.
myComply is a valuable solution for LL196 compliance, providing a collection of tools that can help companies capture and verify SST validity, eliminate the risk of fraudulent cards, use training connect SST cards as access control cards, auto-populate LL196 daily training logs, and record custom worker orientation reports. By using myComply, Asset Owners, Developers, and Construction Managers/General Contractors can ensure compliance with Local Law 196 and improve safety on their construction sites from ground break to completion.
