Feds investigating deadly Dilworth scaffolding collapse ask workers for help

CHARLOTTE — The companies cited in the Dilworth scaffolding collapse are in more legal trouble.

After being slapped with multiple violations, Friends Masonry Construction is now being investigated for separate but serious issues.

Federal investigators want local workers to come forward, and they say they’ll be protected if they do. Many of them were working at the time of the deadly scaffolding collapse in January, but this investigation is separate and could provide help for undocumented workers.

PREVIOUS STORIES:

The collapse happened at an apartment complex construction site on East Morehead Street on Jan. 2. José Canaca, Jesús Olivares, and Gilberto Fernández fell 70 feet and died. You can see more about who they were and donate to help their families by clicking this link.

The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating Friends Masonry Construction to determine whether the Charlotte company complied with minimum wage, child labor, and overtime pay requirements.

While the investigation continues, undocumented employees who cooperate may be protected from deportation and even get a work permit. It is a program similar to DACA, but it’s for noncitizen workers who are victims of or witnesses to the violation of labor rights.

“They have an interest in speaking to workers and making sure those workers feel free to come forward without fear of immigration consequences, and so they have issued this statement of interest,” said Carol Brooke, a senior attorney with the North Carolina Justice Center.

Our partners at Telemundo Charlotte talked to Brooke, who said anyone who has worked for Friends Masonry since July 25, 2021 can use a letter from the Department of Labor to apply for the protection.

It’s unclear how many people have worked at Friends Masonry or how many job sites they had in addition to the one in Dilworth, but when Channel 9′s Hannah Goetz talked to Brooke Thursday, she said getting the letter is a beginning step for the process that any worker at any job site can request.

“We certainly recommend people talk to an immigration lawyer and get their assistance in filing the paperwork to request the deferred action,” Brooke said.

Goetz could not find a website or phone number listed for Friends Masonry, so she has not been able to ask them for a response to this investigation.

If you need help with the deferred action request process, click here.

After the January collapse, state investigators found the scaffolding had not been properly inspected and that some of the steel was heavily rusted and deteriorated. Family of one of the workers sued the companies involved, claiming gross negligence.

To read about the Workers Rights Project, click here.

(WATCH BELOW: Serious violations found at site of deadly scaffolding collapse in Dilworth)