Contractor agrees to $280,000 fine in worker death case

ANCHORAGE — An Anchorage building contractor will no longer contest a $280,000 fine assessed for workplace violations that led to the death of a worker.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced Tuesday that Mark Welty, who does business as North Country Services, agreed to the fine in the death of 24-year-old Nicholson Tinker.

Tinker on Sept. 30, 2016, was preparing a concrete retaining wall for demolition. The wall collapsed and killed him.

State safety officials determined Welty had committed willful violations of Alaska safety standards, including a failure to ensure the wall was braced.

They also concluded Welty improperly classified Tinker and other employees as “independent contractors.”

The department says some contractors misclassify employees to avoid paying workers’ compensation insurance, unemployment and Social Security benefits, allowing them to underbid competitors.

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