Groups Pushing for Reform of New York’s ‘Scaffold Law’
Representatives from the construction and insurance industries are joining small business owners in Albany in an effort to reform the state’s so-called Scaffold Law.
Mike Elmendorf, president of the state Association of General Contractors, says more than 150 people from across New York will be at the state Capitol Tuesday to advocate for reforming the 19th-century law that holds property owners, employers and contractors responsible for all damages in elevation-related injuries that occur at job sites, even if the worker is found to be at fault.
Elmendorf’s group says the law adds considerable expenses to every private and public construction project in the state.
Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle of Rochester and Sen. Patrick Gallivan of Erie County have sponsored legislation that would make reforms to the Scaffold Law.