PLAINTIFF, WHO WAS HIRED TO MONITOR ASBESTOS LEVELS AT THE WORK SITE, AND WHO FELL AT THE SITE, WAS ENGAGED IN AN ACTIVITY COVERED BY THE LABOR LAW (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the Labor Law 240 (1) and 200 causes of action should not have been granted. Plaintiff was hired to test the air for asbestos at the construction site. He fell when he stepped on a milk crate which was allegedly used by workers to access a scaffold. The court noted that the type of inspection work done by the plaintiff was covered by the Labor Law:

Whether inspection work falls within the purview of Labor Law §§ 240(1) and 241(6) “must be determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the context of the work” … . Here, the plaintiff, an environmental technician tasked with ensuring that asbestos was properly removed from the school, was a “covered” person under Labor Law §§ 240(1) and 241(6) because “his inspections were essential, ongoing, and more than mere observation” … . Channer v ABAX Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 01053, Second Dept 2-13-19