When the U.S. Labor Dept. sought to enforce a penalty for violations it believed were connected to the death of welder Jose Armando Maqueda Mejia in North Carolina earlier this year, the largest part of the penalty was $13,653, the maximum fine for a serious violation. It brought the total proposed fines against employer PCL Civil Constructors to $23,000.
But if the U.S. Senate passes the Build Back Better bill approved by the House in its current form, a future serious safety violation could carry a monetary penalty of up to $70,000—more than five times as much as the current limit, and higher after future adjustments for inflation. That also is more than the entire penalty sought in the welder’s fatal accident, which happened when the 42-year-old was cutting beams during demolition of the Bonner Bridge and a span section collapsed.