New York's Second Department just told contractors something worth pinning to the trailer wall: cleaning up debris is not, by itself, a hazardous condition under Labor Law 241(6) — because cleaning it up is the job.
Here's the case in plain terms. A worker got hurt handling construction debris during cleanup work and sued under Section 241(6), the part of the Scaffold Law that lets a worker point to a specific Industrial Code violation and hold the owner and GC liable regardless of who was actually careless on site. The Second Department reaffirmed a line of its own prior rulings: when the "hazard" a worker is complaining about is the very debris he was hired to clear, that's not a violation of the general housekeeping provisions — it's the task itself.
Why that distinction matters to your bid math: Labor Law 240 and 241(6) are strict liability. If a worker falls off a ladder or gets hurt by a code-violating condition, the owner and GC are on the hook even if the sub did everything right. Insurance carriers price your wrap-up (CCIP/OCIP) premiums around exactly this exposure, and demolition, abatement, and cleanup-heavy scopes get hit hardest because "there's junk everywhere" sounds like an easy plaintiff's claim. This ruling closes off one version of that claim — you can't sue over the exact debris you were paid to remove.
It does not touch 240(1) — the elevation-related gravity cases (falls, falling objects) — and it doesn't help you if the debris caused a slip hazard unrelated to the cleanup task, or if a different, unrelated Industrial Code section applies (inadequate lighting, blocked egress, no debris chute where one's required). Demolition and interior-gut subs should still read their Industrial Code citations with their attorney or insurance broker before treating this as a blanket defense.
So what do you do Monday morning: if your scope is debris removal, abatement, or demo cleanup, this ruling is a data point for your GC's defense counsel and your carrier's loss-run conversation, not a reason to loosen site housekeeping. The workers comp claim and the OSHA exposure are untouched — only the specific 241(6) theory got narrower. Flag it for whoever reviews your subcontract indemnification language this quarter.