View this article online: https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/southeast/2004/08/02/44547.htm
The employer of two workers killed and at least three who were injured last month in a construction accident on a Hobe Sound work site has been ordered to cease all business operations in Florida. The order was issued after state investigators with the Department of Financial Services learned the company was reportedly operating without required workers’ compensation coverage.
“This horrible accident is made even more tragic by the fact that the employer may have left his employees and their families with no access to medical treatments or benefits,” said Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, who oversees the department. “This terrible incident is an example of why it is so important to ensure workers are covered by workers’ compensation insurance.”
The Department of Financial Services’ Division of Workers’ Compensation ordered Mac’s Construction and Concrete Inc. of Boca Raton, to stop work and cease all business operations in Florida. An affiliated business, Mac’s Custom Construction Inc., was issued a Stop Work Order last Thursday. Both companies are owned and operated by Richard Meccariello, Jr. Under Florida law, construction industry employers with one or more employees must provide workers’ comp coverage for their employees.
Investigators are currently reviewing business records to determine the total number of employees of both companies owned by Meccariello, including those killed and injured, who may have been employed without workers’ comp coverage.
In addition to the stop work orders, both companies face fines equal to 1.5 times the amount of avoided workers’ comp premium during their period of non-compliance. Any employer operating in violation of a stop work order faces a civil penalty of $1,000 per day of violation and may also face criminal charges.