Dive Brief:
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Wisconsin roofing contractor for not providing adequate fall protection for its workers and has fined the company $112,200.
- At a residential site inspection, OSHA found that Affordable Exteriors, LLC, of Bloomington, WI, put seven employees at risk by allowing them to work at heights of up to 25 feet without fall protection equipment. OSHA issued the company two willful, one repeated and three serious safety citations for the violations.
- According to OSHA, this is the fourth time the agency has cited Affordable Exteriors for not providing fall protection at job sites in Wisconsin and Minnesota. OSHA said Minnesota OSHA has also cited Affordable Exteriors for fall protection violations and that the contractor has failed to respond to any citations or pay penalties to either agency.
Dive Insight:
"Many people have told Affordable Exteriors to use fall protection — OSHA, Minnesota OSHA and the job-site contractor. The company ignored them all," Robert Bonack, OSHA's area director in Appleton, WI, said. "That's a reckless disregard for safety. Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry. Three Wisconsin workers died last year from job-site falls."
OSHA recently fined a New York contractor $85,000 for fall protection violations resulting in a worker death, a North Dakota contractor $105,000 for violations related to a serious worker injury and a Pennsylvania contractor $62,000 for its third serious violation.
In August 2016, violators could see an increase of 80% or more, when OSHA raises its fine levels to fall into line with the Consumer Price Index — the first increase since 1990.
