Nebraska man arrested for stealing $200,000 from roofing company
Court records show Ryan Snyder of Grand Island, Neb., was arrested in January and charged with theft-shoplifting after investigators say he diverted customer payments intended for A2 Siding & Roofing, Grand Island, into a business account he controls, according to KSNB-TV.
A probable cause affidavit filed by the Grand Island Police Department shows Snyder was a project manager for A2 Siding & Roofing and, as an independent contractor, collected payments from about 10 clients that should have gone to the roofing company.
Snyder reportedly directed clients to make payments to a business account he manages. Investigators found company records showing those payments were not given to A2 Siding & Roofing. Court records state the total amount of the payments was $201,644.91.
The affidavit includes text messages showing Snyder apologizing and providing a written breakdown of the clients he collected from and the remaining amount owed to the company.
New tool helps employers identify safety gaps
The National Safety Council has released an assessment tool that aims to help employers prevent serious incidents and fatalities by identifying gaps in their safety practices and culture and offering suggestions for improvement, according to Safety+Health magazine.
The Organization Safety Gap Analysis Tool is interactive and focuses on seven elements crucial to the prevention of serious incidents and fatalities: safety and health operating environment; management leadership; worker engagement; hazard identification and prioritization; hazard abatement and control; implementation and operation; and continuous improvement.
During the 10- to 15-minute assessment, users view statements about each element and rate them for their company as fully meeting the criteria, partially meeting the criteria or having little to no evidence the criteria have been met.
Users then will receive a summary that provides strengths and weaknesses across all seven categories; recommendations for improving safety performance; and best practices to help implement improvement.
Study shows California’s heat standard revisions led to fewer work deaths
A recent study published in Health Affairs by researchers at George Washington University and Middlebury College found increased enforcement and subsequent revisions to California’s outdoor heat standard resulted in fewer worker deaths, according to Safety+Health magazine.
The California heat standard was introduced as the first of its kind in the U.S. in 2005, but the researchers said it “was not actively enforced” by the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health until 2010.
Researchers examined county-level data from 1999 to 2020 for California and neighboring states (Arizona, Nevada and Oregon). They estimate that during a period of increased enforcement between 2010 and 2014, California experienced a 33% decrease in heat-related deaths among outdoor workers. Additionally, in 2015, California “closed loopholes” related to the enforcement of water, rest and shade, which led to an estimated 51% decline in heat-related deaths during the six-year period ending in 2020.
“These findings demonstrate the urgent need for effective heat legislation at the national or state level to safeguard more workers against rising temperatures,” researchers say.
To access NRCA’s heat-illness prevention resources, go to nrca.net/safety/heat-illness-prevention.
Oklahoma AG files motion regarding roofing-related insurance payouts
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a motion in December 2025 to intervene in a case against State Farm Fire and Casualty Company; the suit alleges the company operated a coordinated program to limit roofing-related insurance payouts by denying or reducing valid hail and wind claims, according to oklahoma.gov.
In an accompanying petition filed in Oklahoma County District Court, Drummond said State Farm marketed its policies as providing full replacement-cost coverage while pre-determining claim outcomes to meet corporate savings targets instead of honoring policy promises. Drummond is asking the court to award penalties, damages, structural reforms and the recovery of profits State Farm allegedly obtained through its scheme.
The petition alleges State Farm implemented an internal program, the “Hail Focus Initiative,” to drastically reduce roof indemnity payments in Oklahoma.
“Rather than adjust claims according to coverage language in its policies, State Farm secretly substituted restrictive, extra-contractual standards and used those hidden standards to deny or minimize payment of legitimate covered losses,” Drummond said in the petition.
The petition accuses State Farm of violating the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, the Oklahoma Racketeer-Influence and Corrupt Organization Act and the Oklahoma Deceptive Trade Practices Act. It also accuses State Farm of civil conspiracy and unjust enrichment.
