"Illinois company brought in Mexicans to remove asbestos without required safety gear", 11 Aug 2015

The top federal official for worker safety said...that an Illinois businessman's "outrageous behavior" of bringing in Mexican workers to remove asbestos without safety gear warrants fines of nearly $1.8 million. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration levied the fines Monday. Investigators found Joseph Kehrer, Kehrer Brothers Construction and a Kehrer-affiliated company, D7 Roofing, exposed at least eight workers to asbestos in violation of federal health standards. "This case stands out because of the outrageous behavior of Joseph Kehrer," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels. Workers were threatened with firing if they spoke to investigators, Michaels said. "They spoke no English. He drove to them to jobs," Michaels said. "He set up a housing camp for them. They were at his mercy." A phone message left for Kehrer seeking comment was not immediately returned.