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Dive Brief:
- A Massachusetts water and sewer construction contractor and the largest U.S. homebuilder are among the 2026 “Dirty Dozen” entrepreneurs appointed by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health for alleged unsafe practices that put workers at risk.
- The report, released Wednesday, singled out Revoli Construction for “decades of trench violations” that included a fatal collapse, as well as Texas-based DR Horton for “repeated safety violations and hazardous construction site conditions amid ICE enforcement actions.”
- In 2025, no construction company, residential or commercial, made the Dirty Dozen List. The organization publishes the Dirty Dozen annually in commemoration of Workers’ Memorial Week, April 22-29.
Diving knowledge:
National COSH, based in Somerville, Mass., is a worker safety advocacy group founded in 2004. The council publishes the report detailing public complaints and OSHA’s history to justify each selection on its Dirty Dozen list. The shortlist is selected by the COSH national team through nominations from local COSH groups, worker centres, unions and advocates from across the country.
“The Dirty Dozen 2026 makes clear that these tragedies are not accidents, they are the result of choices,” Jessica Martinez, executive director of National COSH, said in a press release. “Employers must be held accountable and workers must be empowered to speak up without fear.”
In its report, National COSH highlighted Revoli Construction’s history of trench and excavation hazard violations by OSHA dating back to 2001. In November 2025, while company workers were removing sandy soil and installing steel plates outside a trench, the sand fill collapsed and trapped two workers inside the ditchfound OSHA. One of the workers died.
As a result, OSHA cited the contractor for failing to provide adequate protections for the trench, issuing seven willful, 33 repeat and 17 serious violations. In total, OSHA proposed $4.7 million in penalties on April 1.
Franklin, Mass.-based Revoli Construction declined to comment.
According to the National COSH report, DR Horton demonstrated inaction when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeted unauthorized workers at their workplaces. The agency pointed to local news ICE detains workers at home construction sites in Montgomery, Alabama and Shakopee, Minnesota.
DR Horton, based in Arlington, Texas, also declined to comment.
The other Dirty Dozen employers are:
- Alliance Ground International
- Cambria Company
- CommonSpirit Health
- Consolidated producers of catfish
- US supply chain Hyundai-Kia
- Jeny Sod and daycare
- LSG Sky Chefs
- Manufacturer’s pride
- Metro IP
- Industries well done
