Another Voice: Scaffold Law is archaic and does nothing to protect worker safety

By Brian Sampson

As an organization dedicated to supporting safety and best practices in the construction industry, one law gets in our way. Known as the Scaffold Law, this archaic statute from 1885 does nothing to improve worker safety but holds contractors and property owners liable for any gravity-related injuries, regardless of the worker’s responsibility.

We finally have an opportunity for reform. Lawmakers should support Congressman Nick Langworthy’s Infrastructure Expansion Act – a critical piece of legislation to pre-empt New York’s Scaffold Law on federally funded projects. It’s a step in the right direction that would also apply pressure in Albany to repeal the law.

All other states use a comparative negligence standard, meaning each party’s contribution to an incident is cons