When is a regulation sufficiently “concrete” to serve as a predicate for liability under §241(6) of the Labor Law? While the answer is in some instances clear, it is sometimes in the eye of the beholder. And, like much of the jurisprudence relating to §§240 and 241(6) of the Labor Law, the entrenched rules from which the controversy arises are rules that one could not possibly divine from a literal construction of the statute.

Labor Law §241(6): The Long Settled Standards

Labor Law §241(6) requires that “[a]ll areas in which construction, excavation or demolition work is being performed” be so equipped and arranged “as to provide reasonable and adequate protection and safety … .” It states that such duty is owed to “the persons employed therein or lawfully frequenting such places.”