Aquino v. Uber Technologies, Inc.

**What Happened** A painter named Aquino was injured while entering a building where he was supposed to work. He was following the building owner's required procedures for accessing the worksite when the accident occurred. Even though he wasn't actively painting at the time of his injury, he sued under New York's "Scaffold Law," which requires building owners to provide safety protections for workers doing construction-related tasks at height. **What the Court Decided** The court ruled in favor of the painter. The judge found that New York's Scaffold Law protected Aquino even though he was injured while entering the building rather than while actively working. The court emphasized that since he was following mandatory access procedures set by the building owner, he was entitled to the law's safety protections. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling expands when workers are protected under New York's safety laws. It shows that safety protections can cover workers not just while they're actively doing their job, but also when they're following required procedures to access their workplace. For construction and maintenance workers in New York, this means broader coverage under safety laws that hold building owners responsible for providing proper safety measures.