An audit by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office shows that the State Department of Labor’s failure to maintain records on building boilers and asbestos remediation projects needing inspection may jeopardize public health and safety.

The audit also found that DOL failed to collect $3.8 million from building owners who had boilers inspected, asbestos abatement contractors and employers who failed to comply with workplace safety rules.

DiNapoli’s auditors reviewed the three fees with the highest reported revenue -- boiler inspections, public work enforcement and asbestos abatement -- which account for $70.7 million of the total fees collected by DOL during the audit period. Auditors found that DOL’s boiler inspection unit did not have a complete record of the boilers that exist throughout the state and thus does not know how many boiler inspections are required, costing the state potential revenue.

DOL generally agreed with the audit’s findings and has begun implementing them. The agency has also proposed legislation that would address penalty enforcement and the collection of fees.

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