A New York roofing contractor has agreed to pay a $600,000 fine from the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve willful safety violations stemming from the death of an installer who fell through a skylight.

DME Construction Associates, of Setauket, N.Y., settled the case with federal authorities late last month, four years after the investigation began into repeated safety violations at the commercial roofing firm, according to a news release. The settlement affirms all citations issued to the company, including nine willful violations -- eight of which were stemmed from DME's failure to provide fall protection for each of the eight employees who worked on the roof. 

The government proposed $1.2 million in fines after investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the employer failed to provide any personal fall protection equipment to employees at the Oyster Bay Solid Waste Disposal Complex, where workers were replacing a steel roof decking.

A worker fell through a skylight in August 2021 and died from his injuries.

While replacing roof panels, employees worked and walked near two translucent, fiberglass skylights on the north and south sides of the roof that were around 19 feet above the ground. They were uncovered, unsecured and unmarked, records show.

Founded in 1980, DME Construction Associates Inc. is a general contractor located in Setauket.

OSHA conducted a broader investigation and the agency found that, in addition to the unprotected skylight, the employer exposed workers to falls of up to 22 feet from other unguarded roof openings and roof edges, and failed to provide employees with any personal fall protection equipment. Before this inspection, OSHA had cited DME seven times since 2011 for fall-related hazards, including not providing protection from falls through skylights and from roof edges, with more than $50,000 in unpaid fines.

Under the agreement, DME must pay a $600,000 penalty and implement enhanced abatement measures to improve safety for workers, including developing a comprehensive written company safety plan, ensuring and documenting there is enough fall protection equipment for every worker on every jobsite, notifying OSHA of all upcoming jobs at least a week in advance, permitting warrantless entry by OSHA at all worksites, and requiring all DME supervisors to complete OSHA’s 30-hour construction safety training.

DME Construction Associates and owner Peter Chardon await an April sentencing date after pleading guilty in November 2025 to a criminal violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act related to this fatality.

It’s not Chardon’s first time facing felony charges. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to charges of larceny and fifth-degree insurance fraud in a worker’s compensation scheme. His company pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree grand larceny and second-degree insurance fraud in that case.