Compliance Radar
Who was sanctioned, and for what?
Fines, court rulings and incidents from Europe and North America: 756 cases from 32 jurisdictions, each with an official source and checked against that source before publication. Filter by country, area of law and sector. Click a chart to drill down one level.
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per quarter, by date of decision| Period | Cases | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2023 | 2 | €272,982 |
| Q1 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q2 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2024 | 1 | €268,784 |
| Q1 2025 | 0 | — |
| Q2 2025 | 1 | — |
| Q3 2025 | 1 | €35,028 |
| Q4 2025 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2026 | 3 | €259,816 |
| Q2 2026 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2026 | 2 | €656,912 |
10 cases
16 Sep 2026 Hillbeck Homes (Sowerby Bridge) LtdDeveloper pays £300,000 after agency worker falls through unprotected stairwell opening €349,895
A 24-year-old labourer working as a temporary worker for a scaffolding company fell, in his second week of work on the developer's housing site, through a stairwell opening that was neither securely covered nor guarded, dropping one storey onto concrete and suffering serious spinal injuries. The court found the company guilty on three counts because it had neither adequately planned nor supervised work at height and had not taken suitable measures to prevent falls. Fine of £300,000 plus costs.
Floor openings on construction sites must be covered with load-bearing covers or guarded at all times – new and temporary workers in particular do not know where the hazards are.
Fall protection at openings; induction of new workers
- Authority / court
- Leeds Magistrates' Court (Anklage: Health and Safety Executive)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Workplace safety and accidents
- Legal basis
- Work at Height Regulations 2005
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Published
- 21 Sep 2026
Original amount 300,000 GBP, converted at the ECB reference rate of 16 Sep 2026.
- Construction company fined after 24-year-old father falls through unprotected stairwell opening (HSE) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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23 Jul 2026 Orchids Builders LLCFlorida roofer: $349,754 for repeatedly missing fall protection €307,017
On 21.01. and 10 March 2026, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found at two residential construction sites in Rockledge that employees of the roofing contractor were working on roofs without fall protection; training records, eye protection when using nail guns and ladders extending sufficiently above the roof edge were also missing. The company had been inspected seven times since 2023, each time with fall protection violations. Proposed: $349,754 (2 wilful, 4 repeat violations).
Companies that allow the same fall hazards to recur after earlier inspections risk classification as a repeat or wilful violation with substantially higher penalties.
Fall protection during roofing work
Missing or inadequate training played a role in the decision.
- Authority / court
- U.S. Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Workplace safety and accidents
- Legal basis
- 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M (Fall Protection), Subpart X (Ladders)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Culpability
- intentional
- Repeat case
- yes
- Published
- 23 Jul 2026
Original amount 349,754 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Jul 2026.
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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23 Feb 2026 15 construction workers not registered: criminal fine and administrative fine for managing director €16,316
A Romanian construction firm, acting as a subcontractor for a Düsseldorf client, deployed 15 workers on a construction site in the district of Emmendingen without registering them for social insurance; the loss amounted to around 85,000 EUR. The managing director received a final penalty order (Strafbefehl) of 15,000 EUR and a fine of 1,316 EUR (date = publication).
Companies that deploy foreign workers must be able to prove social insurance coverage in the country of origin (A1 certificate) – otherwise German contribution law applies.
- Authority / court
- Amtsgericht Kenzingen / Hauptzollamt Lörrach (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- § 266a StGB (Vorenthalten und Veruntreuen von Arbeitsentgelt); SGB IV (Meldepflichten)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Culpability
- intentional
- Liability of senior managers
- Managing director personally convicted by penalty order.
- Published
- 23 Feb 2026
- Hohe Geldstrafe für Geschäftsführer einer Baufirma (Hauptzollamt Lörrach) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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12 Feb 2026 Polish construction company: underpayment of rebar benders – 11,000 EUR upheld €11,000
The managing director of a Polish construction company with twelve employees (anonymised in the decision as ‘P Sp. z o.o.’), which was working as a subcontractor on a motorway bridge construction site in Upper Austria, had paid five rebar benders below the collectively agreed wage in March 2023. The Gmunden district authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft Gmunden) imposed 12,500 EUR, and the Upper Austria Regional Administrative Court (Landesverwaltungsgericht Oberösterreich) reduced this to 11,000 EUR; Austria's Supreme Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, VwGH) rejected the appeal on points of law (Ra 2025/11/0196).
When posting workers to Austria, the correct classification of each activity under the collective agreement is decisive – it is subject to full judicial review.
- Authority / court
- Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Vorinstanzen: Bezirkshauptmannschaft Gmunden, Landesverwaltungsgericht Oberösterreich)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- § 29 Abs. 1 Lohn- und Sozialdumping-Bekämpfungsgesetz (LSD-BG)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- reduced
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Employees
- Under 50
- Mitigating circumstances
- Reduction of the fine by the Regional Administrative Court.
- Liability of senior managers
- The fine is directed against the managing director as the person responsible under administrative criminal law.
- VwGH Ra 2025/11/0196 vom 12.02.2026 (RIS) Court decision
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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9 Jan 2026 Bulgarian construction subcontractor: 232,500 EUR for paying below the minimum wage €232,500
A Bulgarian construction company that worked as a subcontractor for a German firm on a major construction site in the district of Tuttlingen between January and May 2023 paid below the minimum wage, recorded only the duration of working time rather than its start and end, and did not register the posting. The decisions issued in September 2025, final since the end of 2025, amount to 232,500 EUR – of which 215,000 EUR is disgorgement of the economic benefit and 17,500 EUR is imposed on the managing director (date = publication; exact date of the decision not specified).
General contractors should actively check the minimum wage, working time records and posting notifications of their foreign subcontractors – the economic benefit is disgorged in full.
- Authority / court
- Hauptzollamt Singen (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Mindestlohngesetz; Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz (Aufzeichnungs- und Meldepflichten)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Liability of senior managers
- Separate fine of 17,500 EUR against the managing director.
- Published
- 9 Jan 2026
- Zeit, Geld, Meldepflicht – Zoll ahndet Verstöße mit sechsstelligem Bußgeld (Hauptzollamt Singen) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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30 Sep 2025 Scaffolder left injured undeclared worker without help – Federal Supreme Court upholds sentence €35,028
In February 2020, a scaffolder employed without a work permit fell around 4.5 m from scaffolding; the owner and managing director of the scaffolding company (anonymised in the judgment as ‘A.A. GmbH’) did not call the emergency services despite knowing of the accident, and had employed two Kosovars without permits. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht) upheld the conviction by the Lucerne Cantonal Court (Kantonsgericht Luzern): a suspended custodial sentence of 9 months and an unconditional monetary penalty of 80 daily rates of 410 CHF (32,800 CHF), plus a fine of 2,000 CHF that also covers traffic offences (6B_163/2024).
After an accident at work, first aid takes priority over everything else – attempting to conceal illegal employment makes the case more serious under criminal law.
- Authority / court
- Schweizerisches Bundesgericht (Vorinstanz: Kantonsgericht Luzern)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Art. 128 StGB (Unterlassung der Nothilfe); Ausländer- und Integrationsgesetz (Beschäftigung ohne Bewilligung)
- Action
- Custodial sentence
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Culpability
- intentional
- Liability of senior managers
- Owner and managing director convicted personally.
Original amount 32,800 CHF, converted at the ECB reference rate of 30 Sep 2025.
- Bundesgericht, Urteil 6B_163/2024 vom 30.09.2025 Court decision
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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20 May 2025 Plastering business: 7.85 million EUR loss from cash-in-hand wages, over four years in prison Custodial sentence
A Munich master plasterer, whose business specialising in stucco façades at times had up to 60 employees, paid undeclared cash wages for years and concealed them with sham invoices from supposed Italian subcontractors; the loss uncovered for public funds amounts to 7.85 million EUR. The Munich I Regional Court (Landgericht München I) sentenced him with final effect to 4 years and 3 months, and a foreman to 3 years' imprisonment for aiding and abetting.
Cash-in-hand wage schemes are uncovered over the years – the loss adds up, and employees who take part are also punished.
- Authority / court
- Landgericht München I, 6. Strafkammer (Ermittlung: Hauptzollamt Rosenheim, FKS Weilheim)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- § 266a StGB (Vorenthalten und Veruntreuen von Arbeitsentgelt); § 370 AO (Steuerhinterziehung)
- Action
- Custodial sentence
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Employees
- 50 to 249
- Culpability
- intentional
- Liability of senior managers
- Owner and foreman personally sentenced to prison terms.
- Published
- 9 Jul 2025
- Über vier Jahre Haft wegen Sozialversicherungsbetrugs für Bauunternehmer (Hauptzollamt Rosenheim) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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6 Nov 2024 595 Construction LLCIllinois framing contractor: $287,465 for repeatedly unprotected work at height €268,784
In May 2024, inspectors saw carpenters of the Crystal Lake company working on residential buildings in Elburn at heights of over 6 feet without fall protection three times within one month; training records and forklift certifications were also missing, and rigging equipment was damaged. The company had already been cited in 2022 and 2023. Proposed: $287,465.
Training records are mandatory, but only daily checks on site prevent falls.
Fall protection and hazard recognition on construction sites
Missing or inadequate training played a role in the decision.
- Authority / court
- U.S. Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Workplace safety and accidents
- Legal basis
- 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M (Fall Protection) u. a.
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Culpability
- intentional
- Repeat case
- yes
- Published
- 6 Nov 2024
Original amount 287,465 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 6 Nov 2024.
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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15 Dec 2023 iSpan Systems LP; East Elgin Concrete Forming Ltd.Building collapse in London (Ontario): steel fabricator and concrete firm pay CA$400,000 €272,982
In December 2020, part of a new building collapsed while concrete was being poured on the roof level; two workers died and four were seriously injured. The manufacturer of the structural steel system had not ensured its load-bearing capacity, and the concrete firm had not adequately instructed its workers on correct measuring procedures. Fines of CA$260,000 (iSpan) and CA$140,000 (East Elgin).
In subcontracting chains, the structural system manufacturer and the supervising contractor each remain responsible in their own right – passing on the work does not relieve them.
Instruction on concrete pouring specifications and load limits
Missing or inadequate training played a role in the decision.
- Authority / court
- Ontario Court of Justice London (Ermittlung: Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Workplace safety and accidents
- Legal basis
- Section 25(1)(e)(iii) (iSpan) und Section 25(2)(a) (East Elgin) Occupational Health and Safety Act (Ontario)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Mitigating circumstances
- Guilty pleas by both companies.
- Published
- 5 Jan 2024
Original amount 400,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 15 Dec 2023.
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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21 Nov 2023 Calcrete Construction Inc.Calcrete Construction: over 1 million USD – up to 68 hours a week without overtime pay Other
Employees of the Glendale construction company regularly worked 45 to 68 hours a week without being paid for overtime; there was also no paid sick leave and no proper wage statements. The California Labor Commissioner’s Office concluded a settlement with the company of more than 1 million USD for the benefit of 249 construction workers.
Anyone allowing long working weeks must also record and pay for them in full – systematic unrecorded overtime comes to light in every wage audit.
- Authority / court
- California Labor Commissioner's Office (Division of Labor Standards Enforcement)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Working time
- Legal basis
- California Labor Code (Überstunden, Paid Sick Leave, Lohnabrechnung)
- Action
- Other
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link