Dive Brief:
- A Massachusetts water and sewer line construction contractor and the largest homebuilder in the U.S. are among the 2026 “Dirty Dozen” employers named by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health for alleged unsafe practices putting workers at risk.
- The report, released Wednesday, singled out Revoli Construction for “decades of trenching violations” which included a fatal collapse, in addition to Texas-based D.R. Horton for “repeated safety violations and hazardous construction jobsite conditions amid ICE enforcement actions.”
- In 2025, no construction firms, residential or commercial, made it onto the Dirty Dozen List. The organization releases the Dirty Dozen annually in observance of Workers’ Memorial Week, running April 22-29.
Dive Insight:
Somerville, Massachusetts-based National COSH is a worker safety advocacy group founded in 2004. The council puts out the report with details on public complaints and OSHA history to justify each selection in its Dirty Dozen list. The list is selected by the National COSH team using nominations from local COSH groups, worker centers, unions and nationwide advocates.
“The Dirty Dozen 2026 makes clear that these tragedies are not accidents, they are the result of choices,” said Jessica Martinez, executive director of National COSH, in a news release. “Employers must be held accountable, and workers must be empowered to speak out without fear.”
In its report, National COSH highlighted Revoli Construction’s history of trench and excavation hazard violations from OSHA dating back to 2001. In November 2025, as workers for the company were removing sandy soil and installing steel plates outside of a trench, the backfilled sand collapsed and trapped two workers inside the trench, OSHA found. One of the workers died.
As a result, OSHA cited the contractor for failing to provide proper protections for the trench, issuing seven willful, 33 repeat and 17 serious violations. In total, OSHA proposed $4.7 million in penalties on April 1.
Franklin, Massachusetts-based Revoli Construction declined to comment.
According to National COSH’s report, D.R. Horton demonstrated inaction when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers targeted unauthorized workers on its jobsites. The agency pointed to local news reports of ICE detaining workers on home construction sites in Montgomery, Alabama, and Shakopee, Minnesota.
Arlington, Texas-based D.R. Horton also declined to comment.
The other Dirty Dozen employers are:
- Alliance Ground International
- Cambria Company
- CommonSpirit Health
- Consolidated Catfish Producers
- Hyundai-Kia U.S. Supply Chain
- Jeny Sod and Nursery
- LSG Sky Chefs
- Maker’s Pride
- Subway IP
- Wellmade Industries
