legal developments Safety insight: Because there’s a solid reason your employer has developed safety rules, it’s always risky to disregard them, no matter the circumstances. What happened: An organization hired several contract crews to handle outdoor tasks at elevated locations using aerial lifts. Because the weather forecast predicted high winds for the day, the employer told most of the contract crews not to work – the company had a safety rule forbidding the use of aerial lifts when wind speeds exceeded 28 mph. What people did: One crew, however, was allowed to proceed with the task, even though the weather forecast for their location predicted wind gusts of up to 50 mph. The three workers – who hadn’t yet completed their mandatory training on aerial lift safety – positioned a lift on the ground near the worksite. Shortly after the three staff members climbed onto the platform and raised the lift, a gust of wind knocked over the lift and the workers fell to the ground and died. Legal challenge: The family of the three victims – all of whom were related – sued the host employer. Result: The company lost. The court refused to dismiss the lawsuit. The judge pointed out that the host employer had shut down most jobsites in the region for the day, but had failed to stop work at the location where the three men died. Plus, the staffers hadn’t yet finished their mandatory lift training, and the employer violated its own safety rule that aerial lifts shouldn’t be used when wind speeds exceeded 28 mph. The skinny: Employers that disregard their own safety regulations usually face an uphill battle convincing a judge that they shouldn’t be held liable when someone is killed as a result of their rule violation. Cite: Andino v. Nexius Solutions Inc., Superior Court of Delaware, No. N22C-10-671, 2/25/26. horror stories Summary A truck driver was fatally electrocuted while helping a farmer who was trapped in the cab of a tractor that had become entangled in a fallen overhead power line. The incident As an independent operator of a truck, Dante Rico Cruz of Hebron, IL, didn’t know very much about electrical safety. After all, truck drivers aren’t typically exposed to electrical hazards. Cruz, however, could’ve benefited from some training on electrical safety while he was operating his truck to pick up a load of grain from a farmer in rural McHenry County, IL. Cruz had positioned his truck along the side of the road so the 56-year-old farmer could offload grain into the truck. The farmer was using a tractor to pull a grain cart. During the grain offloading process, however, the driver lifted the chute for the grain cart too high and the chute contacted an overhead power line. The line fell and landed on the tractor. Unaware of the danger, Cruz instinctively approached the tractor to help the farmer. As soon as Cruz contacted the tractor, electrical current coursed through his body and he fell to the ground. The response When responders arrived, they saw the farmer in the tractor and Cruz on the ground. They contacted the power company, which deenergized the electrical line. Once the power was off, officials safely extricated the farmer from the tractor and removed Cruz’s lifeless body from the side of the road. The aftermath After Cruz, 42, died, Fernando Salazar, his brother-in-law, organized a fundraiser so Cruz could be buried in his native Mexico. “He came here legally to work to provide for his family and the hope to accomplish his dreams,” wrote Salazar. “Dante was a hard worker, always willing to help others.” March 23, 2026 Safety Alert for Supervisors 3 You make the call: The decision (See case on page 1) Yes. The company won. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Review Commission dismissed the citation. The commission ruled that the employer wasn’t liable for the fine because it wasn’t aware of the rule violation. That’s because the amount of time the work rule was being ignored was quite short – a few minutes while the worker held a pipe that contained explosives. And the man’s supervisor wasn’t aware of the offense because he was in another location at the time. Because the employer didn’t know about the violation, it wasn’t on the hook for the citation. Furthermore, OSHA couldn’t cite the company for ignoring the employer’s own work rule. Here’s why: Allowing the agency to penalize organizations for disregarding their own work rules would dissuade companies from developing work rules to begin with. What it means: Always discipline rule violators Of course you can’t be expected to enforce work rule violations you aren’t aware of. In this case, the supervisor didn’t know his staff member was handling explosives in violation of a company work rule. That’s why you have to discipline people every time you actually see them disregarding work rules. If staffers know they’ll be punished for offenses when you are looking, they’ll be less likely to ignore the rules when you aren’t looking. Based on Secretary of Labor v. Brigade Energy. Three workers dead because employer ignored safety rule Worker touched machine still entangled with electrical line