Concord construction firm owner accused of lying in OSHA death probe

Officials say they were misled on worker’s actual employment status

The owner of a Concord construction company is being charged with lying to an OSHA safety and health officer about the death of an employee last August.

Nathan Craigue of Concord, owner of Craigue & Sons Home Exteriors, twice liked to OSHA officers about the employment status of Kenneth McKenna, who fell off a roof at a construction site in Concord, U.S. Attorney Scott Murray’s office said in a statement.

Craigue told the OSHA officers that McKenna was a subcontractor and not an employee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. In fact, the U.S. Attorney’s office said, McKenna had been an employee of Craigue & Sons for about 20 years.

Nathan Craigue, 43, who owns Craigue & Sons Home Exteriors, told a safety and health officer with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that 51-year-old Kenneth McKenna was a subcontractor and not an employee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Friday.

Craigue was arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court in Concord and a trial has been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 17.

Craigue & Sons already faces fines totaling $40,279 for workplace safety violations found in relation to the death. Among the violations cited by OSHA were failure to have fall protection systems in place and failure to provide fall protection training to employees. Craigue & Sons is contesting the citations.