The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health announced Tuesday that it cited a Riverside construction company $66,000 for safety violations that led to the death of a worker when a 17-foot-deep trench collapsed on him. 

Cal/OSHA found that Empire Equipment Services did not properly classify the soil and failed to correctly slope the excavation.

Two Empire Equipment Services workers were installing sewer pipes at a Lake Forest residential construction site when a 30-foot-wide section of the trench’s sidewall sloughed and collapsed while two were inside, Cal/OSHA said. Only one of them escaped.

Cal/OSHA’s investigation found that the company failed to ensure the site was inspected by someone who was deemed competent by the employer and familiar with trench hazards, soil classification and the appropriate safety requirements. The soil at the work site was unstable, requiring an adequate protective system.      

Cal/OSHA issued citations to Empire Equipment Services Inc. for two serious accident-related violations and one general violation. One of the serious violations is classified as repeat.

In August 2017, Cal/OSHA had cited the employer $24,670 for serious safety violations after conducting an inspection at another site in Lake Forest. During that inspection, Cal/OSHA found that the employer had exposed its workers to serious hazards while they worked in a trench deeper than 5 feet without proper sloping or installing any adequate protective systems.