N.Y. Laws » CHAPTER Labor / ARTICLE Building Construction, Demolition and Repair Work
New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. Labor Law § 240 (2026)

Scaffolding and other devices for use of employees

✓ current as of May 2026
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§ 240. Scaffolding and other devices for use of employees. 1.  All
contractors and owners and their agents, except owners of one and
two-family dwellings who contract for but do not direct or control the
work, in the erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting,
cleaning or pointing of a building or structure shall furnish or erect,
or cause to be furnished or erected for the performance of such labor,
scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys,
braces, irons, ropes, and other devices which shall be so constructed,
placed and operated as to give proper protection to a person so
employed.
  No liability pursuant to this subdivision for the failure to provide
protection to a person so employed shall be imposed on professional
engineers as provided for in article one hundred forty-five of the
education law, architects as provided for in article one hundred
forty-seven of such law or landscape architects as provided for in
article one hundred forty-eight of such law who do not direct or control
the work for activities other than planning and design. This exception
shall not diminish or extinguish any liability of professional engineers
or architects or landscape architects arising under the common law or
any other provision of law.
  2. Scaffolding or staging more than twenty feet from the ground or
floor, swung or suspended from an overhead support or erected with
stationary supports, except scaffolding wholly within the interior of a
building and covering the entire floor space of any room therein, shall
have a safety rail of suitable material properly attached, bolted,
braced or otherwise secured, rising at least thirty-four inches above
the floor or main portions of such scaffolding or staging and extending
along the entire length of the outside and the ends thereof, with only
such openings as may be necessary for the delivery of materials. Such
scaffolding or staging shall be so fastened as to prevent it from
swaying from the building or structure.
  3. All scaffolding shall be so constructed as to bear four times the
maximum weight required to be dependent therefrom or placed thereon when
in use.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5,902 cases (1,182 in the last 5 years), 1977–2026 · leading case: Thomas J. O'Brien v. Port Auth. of New York & New Jersey, 74 N.E.3d 307 (NY 2017).
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Thomas J. O'Brien v. Port Auth. of New York & New Jersey, 74 N.E.3d 307 (NY 2017). · cites it 64× “DiFIORE, Chief Judge: The issue on appeal is whether the Appellate Division properly determined that plaintiff Thomas O'Brien was entitled to summary judgment on liability on his Labor Law § 240 (1) cause of action. We conclude that there are triable issues of fact and that,…”
Marc A. Nicometi v. The Vineyards of Fredonia, LLC / Scott Pfohl v. W. New York Plumbing-Ellicott Plumbing & Remodeling Co., 30 N.E.3d 154 (NY 2015). · cites it 59× “: In this personal injury action, we are called upon to determine whether Labor Law § 240 (1) applies where plaintiff sustained injuries after he slipped on ice and fell to the floor - 1 - while using stilts to install insulation in a ceiling.”
Narducci v. Manhasset Bay Assocs., 750 N.E.2d 1085 (NY 2001). · cites it 22× “These appeals require us to examine the circumstances under which Labor Law § 240 (1) liability may be imposed upon property owners and contractors when an object falls on a worker at a construction site.”
Blake v. Neighborhood Hous. Servs. of New York City, Inc., 803 N.E.2d 757 (NY 2003). · cites it 20× “We are presented with the question whether a plaintiff who was injured while using a ladder may prevail in a Labor Law § 240 (1) action even when a jury finds that the ladder was so constructed and operated as to give him proper protection and he was the sole cause of his injury.”
Goodwin v. Dix Hills Jewish Ctr., 2016 NY Slip Op 7293 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). · cites it 14× “), entered May 30, 2014, which granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and denied his motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability on the causes of action alleging violations of Labor Law §§ 240 (1) and 241 (6). Ordered that the…”
Hoyos v. NY-1095 Avenue of the Americas, LLC, 2017 NY Slip Op 8717 (N.Y. App. Div. 2017). · cites it 52× “Labor Law § 240(1) requires that site owners, contractors and their agents provide safety devices and that they be "constructed, placedseeks to remove plaintiff from the protections of Labor Law § 240 (1), on the basis that plaintiff was not "working" at the time of the accident…”
Barreto v. Metro. Transp. Auth., 34 N.E.3d 815 (NY 2015). · cites it 31× “33 plaintiff's Labor Law § 240 (1) claims against the City (as owner) and NYCTA and MTA because plaintiff was not the sole proximate cause of his injuries in light of the record evidence that it took at least two workers to move the manhole cover and because the lights may have…”
Ross v. Curtis-Palmer Hydro-Elec. Co., 618 N.E.2d 82 (NY 1993). · cites it 19× “More specifically, these cross appeals require us to consider whether plaintiffs accident is within the class of hazards contemplated by Labor Law § 240 (1), whether the *498 specific Industrial Code regulations on which plaintiff relies support a cause of action under Labor Law…”
Walls v. Turner Constr. Co., 831 N.E.2d 408 (NY 2005). · cites it 24× “Having suffered various injuries to his legs, ankle and back, plaintiff commenced this action against Jordan and Turner and was awarded summary judgment on his Labor Law § 240 (1) cause of action. In granting summary judgment, the trial court determined that based on these…”
Nazario v. 222 Broadway, LLC, 135 A.D.3d 506 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). · cites it 49× “He fell to the floor, holding the ladder, which remained in an open, locked position when it landed ( see Vukovich v 1345 Fee, LLC , 61 AD3d 533 [1st Dept 2009] [summary judgment granted on Labor Law § 240[1] claim, where plaintiff fell from an unsecured ladder after receiving…”
Myiow v. City of New York, 143 A.D.3d 433 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). · cites it 40× “), entered September 2, 2014, which granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability under Labor *434 Law § 240 (1), and order, same court and Justice, entered September 2, 2014, which, to the extent appealed from as limited by the briefs, denied…”
Chowdhury v. Rodriguez, 57 A.D.3d 121 (N.Y. App. Div. 2008). · cites it 12× “In a summons and complaint filed on May 26, 2005, the plaintiff asserted four causes of action to recover damages for common-law negligence and violations of Labor Law § 240 (1) and § 241 (6) and § 200.”
Show all 5,902 citing cases →
— N.Y. Labor Law § 240(1) — 1344 cases
Hoyos v. NY-1095 Avenue of the Americas, LLC, 2017 NY Slip Op 8717 (N.Y. App. Div. 2017). “Labor Law § 240(1) requires that site owners, contractors and their agents provide safety devices and that they be "constructed, placedseeks to remove plaintiff from the protections of Labor Law § 240 (1), on the basis that plaintiff was not "working" at the time of the accident…”
Nazario v. 222 Broadway, LLC, 135 A.D.3d 506 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). “He fell to the floor, holding the ladder, which remained in an open, locked position when it landed ( see Vukovich v 1345 Fee, LLC , 61 AD3d 533 [1st Dept 2009] [summary judgment granted on Labor Law § 240[1] claim, where plaintiff fell from an unsecured ladder after receiving…”
Myiow v. City of New York, 143 A.D.3d 433 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). “), entered September 2, 2014, which granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability under Labor *434 Law § 240 (1), and order, same court and Justice, entered September 2, 2014, which, to the extent appealed from as limited by the briefs, denied…”
Lojano v. Soiefer Bros. Realty Corp., 2020 NY Slip Op 06110 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020).
Debennedetto v. Chetrit, 2021 NY Slip Op 00413 (N.Y. App. Div. 2021).
— N.Y. Labor Law § 240(2) — 8 cases
Hossain v. Condo. Bd. of Grand Prof'l Bldg., 2023 NY Slip Op 06128 (N.Y. App. Div. 2023).
Valladares v. Henry V. Murray Senior, LLC, 2024 NY Slip Op 30926(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty. 2024).
Barreto v. Bd. of Mgrs. of 545 W. 110th St. Condo., 2024 NY Slip Op 30489(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty. 2024).
Orellana v. 5541-1274 Fifth Ave. Manhattan LLC, 2026 NY Slip Op 30785(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty. 2026).
Caguana v. 111 W. 57th Prop. Owner, LLC, 2024 NY Slip Op 33974(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty. 2024).
— N.Y. Labor Law § 240(3) — 1 case
Orellana v. 5541-1274 Fifth Ave. Manhattan LLC, 2026 NY Slip Op 30785(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York Cty. 2026).
— N.Y. Labor Law § 240(6) — 1 case
Gerrish v. 56 Leonard LLC, 2017 NY Slip Op 1262 (N.Y. App. Div. 2017).
— N.Y. Labor Law § 240(l) — 3 cases
Gravatt v. City of New York, 53 F. Supp. 2d 388 (S.D.N.Y. 1999).
Steinman v. Morton Int'l Inc., 756 F. Supp. 2d 314 (W.D.N.Y. 2010).
Leopoldino v. 206 Kent Inv. LLC, 2024 NY Slip Op 32579(U) (N.Y. Sup. Kings 2024).
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