Emanuel Enterprises LLC, Houston: OSHA silica citation
Emanuel Enterprises LLC, based in Houston, Texas, got an OSHA citation because workers were exposed to silica dust. The citation was announced by the Labor Department on December 14, 2023.
What inspectors found at the whole workplace goes in the citation; your own health and work there decide whether you can claim.
- Penalty proposed for all hazards
- $175,010
- Violations, every hazard in the citation
- 3 serious
- Announced
- December 14, 2023
- Citation issued by
- OSHA
- Where
- Houston, Texas
- Kind of work
- Demolition contractor (demolition, plus lead, asbestos and mold abatement and remediation)
Worked here? Talk to a lawyer for free: (844) 387-9991
Inspection reason: In June 2023, a roof at Friendswood High School collapsed. Four workers were injured, and one later died.
Silica dust: the findings
- Workers were not protected from silica exposure
- Respirators were not used the right way
More hazards in the citation
- The required engineering survey was not finished before demolition began
- Hazards became clear, but supervisors let demolition go on anyway
- Employees were told to keep working under a structure that later collapsed
The employer's time to answer the citation: After the citations arrived, the company could comply, ask OSHA's area director for an informal conference, or contest the findings at the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. It had 15 working days from receipt to act.
Did you work for Emanuel Enterprises?
Silica dust is released from concrete, brick, and stone when demolition, cutting, or drilling work happens on building sites. Workers' comp is usually the first step in a silicosis claim if you worked for Emanuel Enterprises. A lawyer can also check if a product manufacturer or another contractor could be sued.
Two ways to claim in Texas
Workers' comp claims in Texas
- to file for workers' comp, once you learn the job caused it
- 1 year
- to let your employer know you're sick
- 30 days
The Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation is where you file a workers' comp claim in Texas (official site).
In Texas, private employers aren't required to carry workers' comp. If yours had no coverage (Texas calls this a non-subscriber), there is no workers' comp claim, but you can usually sue the employer itself. What a non-subscriber is
Your employer in Texas must be told you're ill within 30 days. The clock starts on the day you knew, or should have known, your work might be to blame. The claim itself must reach the state within a year of the date you learned, or ought to have learned, that your work caused the illness. (Texas Labor Code §409.001 and §409.003)
A lawsuit against the manufacturers
A suit aimed at whoever made the stone or the equipment counts as a different claim, with a deadline all its own. How silicosis lawsuits work
Free claim review by phone
Official source: U.S. Labor Department news release 23-2559-DAL. Labor Department news releases are where these records come from, and they're refreshed each month.
Other Texas employers cited for silica
- RM Masonry and Stucco Inc. in Denton
- Cavco Industries Inc. in Austin
- Artco-Bell Corp. in Temple