Labor Department Suspends 129 Crane Operator�s Licenses

Department discovered crane operators failed exam

ALBANY, NY (11/08/2007; 1504)(read Media)-- Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith announced today the suspension of 129 Crane Operator�s Certificates, after discovering that licenses were issued to individuals who failed the practical exam. The Labor Department took this immediate action after the Office of the State Inspector General, in the course of an ongoing investigation, notified the Labor Department that the certificates were wrongly issued from 1972-2000.

�This is a public safety issue,� said Commissioner Smith. �As of today, these crane operators are not certified to operate a crane in New York State. We are urging them to retake the practical exam or their licenses will be revoked.�

In May 2007, the State Inspector General�s Office, acting on complaints, initiated a comprehensive investigation of the process by which DOL tests and licenses crane operators. In the course of this investigation, the Inspector General obtained evidence that the DOL Licensing and Certification Unit improperly issued licenses to individuals who had failed the crane operator�s practical exam.

State Inspector General Kristine Hamann said, �It is absolutely essential that the public feel safe and certain that New York State is licensing only qualified workers. My office is continuing to examine crane operator�s certification, and we welcome any relevant information.�

The Labor Department is conducting a complete audit of approximately 3,000 state crane operators to ensure that their certifications were issued based on a passing score. The 129 licenses suspended today are based on an audit of approximately 1,000 operators, so it�s likely that the department will suspend additional licenses in the coming weeks.

Individuals who failed the practical exam have been notified by the department. The department is offering expedited retesting of all affected crane operators and the first round of practical exams will occur as early as next month. If individuals do not contact the department by November 16, they risk having their certifications revoked.

The department has also looked into the safety record of the individuals who failed the exam and found that five have been involved in crane accidents, with four being mechanical in nature. In one of the accidents, the operator was found to be responsible and his crane license was suspended for three months.

April 3, 2008

Report Faults State�s Approval of Crane Operator Licenses

The State Labor Department revoked the improperly awarded licenses late last year after it learned of the problem, the report said. The licenses were issued over a period of more than a decade. The licenses cover all construction in the state except in New York City because the city�s Buildings Department issues its own licenses after testing operators. Attention has focused on crane safety in New York after a 22-story crane toppled over on the East Side of Manhattan last month, killing seven people.

Much of the report by the office of Kristine Hamann, the inspector general, focused on the role of the state employee, Frank Fazzio, who was the director of the Labor Department�s licensing and certification unit from 1984 to 1997.

Mr. Fazzio also served from 1993 until last year on the state�s five-member Crane Operator Board of Examiners, appointed by the labor commissioner. The board, whose members are not paid, is responsible for administering and grading practical tests in which the license applicants must demonstrate their ability to operate a crane in the field.

Despite the findings, the report was at a loss to explain why Mr. Fazzio had granted the licenses. It said there was no evidence that he had taken money or had received other benefits from the people who received the licenses.

Reached by cellphone on Wednesday, Mr. Fazzio denied having acted improperly. �It was just a thought that I could help people to make a living,� he said when asked why he had given licenses to people who had failed the test. �I thought that they were good operators at the time. I made a judgment call. My judgment may appear to be off, but it was a judgment call.�

Asked if he had taken any money to approve licenses, he said, �Absolutely not.�

The inspector general�s report said Mr. Fazzio approved the 210 licenses for people who had failed the exam between 1985 and 2000.

Most of the applicants scored close to the 65 points that were required to pass, the report said, but some applicants� scores were in the 40s. In one case, a license was approved even though one of the board members grading the test noted that the applicant �ran the machine in an unsafe way.�

Mr. Fazzio also issued himself a crane operator�s license in 1988 even though he did not qualify, according to the report.

It said Mr. Fazzio gave conflicting answers when asked about his license. At one point, the report said, he told investigators he wanted the license because he �thought it would be a trophy.� At another point, however, he denied having received it.

The report also charged that in 1991 Mr. Fazzio issued himself a blaster�s certificate, which is required to handle or use explosives. He was not qualified as a blaster, either, the report said.

Mr. Fazzio did not appear to have ever used either license to work as a crane operator or a blaster, according to the report.

Mr. Fazzio, 60, currently works for the Labor Department as a downstate manager of the public employee safety and health unit, which investigates claims of unsafe working conditions, according to Leo Rosales, a department spokesman.

Mr. Rosales said the department waited until the investigation was finished before disciplining Mr. Fazzio, who earns $82,117 a year. �We�re going to take quick and appropriate action,� Mr. Rosales said. He said about 2,000 people hold valid state licenses to operate cranes. The department has also agreed to improve testing.

The report also found that there were no clear requirements or procedures for the licensing exams. It said tests were often given on older or outmoded cranes that are in poor condition and may be unfamiliar to the applicants. Most tests are given on equipment controlled by the crane operators� union, and union members are given additional time to practice on the cranes, which could give them an unfair advantage, the report said.