New York’s Scaffold Law Needs to be Reformed

In a recent visit to the Tappan Zee bridge, Governor Cuomo announced his plan to revitalize the economy in the wake of the COVID outbreak. Using the Tappan Zee as a backdrop Governor Cuomo announced his intention to use big infrastructure projects to bring life back to get New York’s economy back on its feet. As the Governor looks to lead New York into this new era, he needs to tackle an old problem: York’s Scaffold law.

New York’s Scaffold Law is the only one of its kind, no other state has similar laws in place. The current New York Scaffold law assigns one hundred percent liability on owners and contractors for workplace injuries — without considering any contributing fault of the worker.

This massive liability inequity has a dramatic effect on the cost of construction in New York. On average in other states, construction liability insurance accounts for 2 to 3 percent of the cost of a project, while in New York, it runs 7 to 10 percent

Liability insurance costs for the MTA’s East Access Project to link the LIRR to Grand Central has ballooned from $93 million in 2002 to $584 million. In addition, the Scaffold Law is estimated to add $200 – $400 million in additional costs to the construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge. With more and more new projects to come, and many that already exist, the Scaffold Law needs to be reformed.

If the Governor continues his current plan for big new infrastructure projects he must tackle the old issue of the Scaffold Law.