Welcome to CPR's first- and only-of-its-kind Crimes Against Workers Database. Here you’ll find detailed information about state criminal cases and grassroots advocacy campaigns against employers responsible for crimes against workers – leaving them dead, maimed, seriously injured or sick, or robbing them of some or all of their paychecks. You'll also find links to Google Drive folders with source materials. Search using the tools below.
You can also help us grow the database. We plan to expand the database as we discover new cases and gather new information and materials. You can help us by notifying us of new incidents or additional information about incidents already in the database. To let us know about an incident, contact CPR Senior Policy Analyst Marcha Isabelle Chaudry.
Disclaimer: Before you begin your search below, please review the database terms and conditions.
Showing 127 results
Burned | California | January 1, 1989
Safety violations at a metal forging plant caused third degree burns to workers. (Date below is approximate.)
Fire/ Explosion | Wisconsin | November 10, 1988
Methane gas was detected in a 40 feet deep tunnel that was under construction. The mining machine was automatically shut down, and all the employees were evacuated. Ten minutes later, three employees entered the area to determine if the atmosphere in the tunnel was safe for reentry. An explosive mixture of methane gas had developed […]
Fire/ Explosion | New York | October 4, 1988
Keator was killed when petroleum vapors exploded while he was cleaning a tank trailer. The spark that led to the explosion was produced when an unprotected bulb from a trouble light hanging near the tank's opening was struck by a stream of water from a high pressure washer Kator was using to clean the tank. […]
Trench Collapse | California | June 8, 1988
District Attorney filed charges based on OSHA inspection and willful violation, even though the trench did not collapse and no one was injured.
Fire/ Explosion | California | May 5, 1988
A maintenance engineer, Alexander John Handy, was killed in a fire at the First Interstate Bank Building while in an elevator. 40 others, workers and firemen, were injured in the blaze. Security personnel had sent Handy to the 12th floor, where the fire broke out, to investigate. He was given a special fire key to […]
Caught in Machine | California | January 1, 1988
Workers' fingers amputated on a punch press. (Date below is approximate.)
Trench Collapse | Texas | April 21, 1987
Bland Construction Company was in the process of constructing a wasterwater line when a portion of a trench wall collapsed, killing Victor Nazario, an employee of the company. Gregorio Reza was operating a backhoe at the trench. Between 8:30 am and 9:00 am, Reza stopped his excavating work in order to straighten out a light […]
Wall/Building Collapse | California | February 14, 1987
An unshored brick wall collapsed, killing one and injuring one.
Trench Collapse | California | January 7, 1987
Worker killed from asphyxia by compression in unshored excavation. Soils report was inadequate because it failed to recommend a vertical cut.