Employer ordered to be taken into custody for failing to correct workplace hazards and pay OSHA fines

A U.S. Marshall has taken an Illinois business owner into custody after the employer failed to correct serious trenching hazards and pay OSHA penalties. On Oct. 27, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted a motion filed by Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez against the owner of Mike Neri Sewer & Water Contractor Inc., based in Elk Grove Village, Ill. This action followed the owner's long history of failing to comply with OSHA standards and orders of the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

In October 2013, the Court issued an enforcement order against Neri and when he failed to comply, the Court held Neri in contempt in July 2014 and threatened him with possible incarceration. Last week, after receiving no response from Neri, the Court granted the Secretary's motion to proceed with coercive actions, ordering the U.S. Marshal to place Neri in the custody of the Attorney General. Neri will remain in custody until a District or Magistrate Judge certifies to the Court that he has either fully complied with the Court's enforcement order or has demonstrated he is unable to comply.