UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At 1:30 p.m. on December 28, 2020, Employees #1 and #2, day laborers employed by a painting and masonry contractor, were repairing a retaining wall at a job sit e. They were working on the base of the retaining wall in preparation for a con crete pour. The two employees had not been trained by the owner of the company on the hazards of working on a retaining wall, and the owner did not have knowle dge or experience with retaining walls or excavations. Employees #1 and #2 were using a Bosch Electric Grinder (SN 021024766) and a Bosch Electric Drill Hammer 8" pick to dig and clear needed space for a new footing support on the left sid e of the wall. No support system was used to protect the employees during the e xcavation process, and no underpinning plan was used. Both the left and right s ides of the wall had been undermined by run off rainfall and/or snowfall for sev eral months including days prior to the incident. The retaining wall suddenly c ollapsed on the two employees. Employee #1 sustained blunt force crushing injur ies and was killed. Employee #2 was hospitalized with critical injuries.