
Massachusetts contractor willfully and repeatedly exposed workers to safety hazards, US Department of Labor saysin proposing $4.6 million in penalties on April 1, about six months after a worker died in a fatal trench collapse on Cape Cod.
Revoli Construction Co. Inc., Franklin, was cited for a rash of serious security violations, according to a statement from the department. The accident on November 18, 2025 resulted in the death of employee Miguel Reis, 61 years old. Another employee was seriously injured at the job site in Yarmouth, Massachusetts.
Revoli could not be reached for comment.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s investigation into the incident found that Revoli workers were removing sandy soil and installing steel plates outside a trench when the sand fill collapsed, trapping two workers inside the trench.
Revoli was cited for seven willful citations, 33 repeat violations and 17 serious violations, including failing to provide workers with a safe way to exit the trench, failing to provide adequate protection against collapse and having unsupported underground utilities. The citations also include maintaining piles of debris within two feet of an excavation, failing to install a shoring system as designed and using a damaged protection system.
The agency also said the company exposed employees to numerous electrical and fall hazards.
Revoli has 15 businesses to comply, request an informal OSHA conference or contest the findings before an independent federal panel.
“This fall is a solemn reminder of the dangers construction workers face when basic safety procedures and safe engineering solutions are ignored,” U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement. “We will continue to hold employers accountable and provide resources dedicated to the hazard training and engineering controls needed to end these preventable tragedies.”
