Roofing contractor Juan Manuel Antonio-Martinez has been cited for three willful safety violations for exposing workers to fall hazards at two separate residential home sites in Savoy, Ill., on March 26, 2014, and April 9, 2014.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed penalties of $85,800.
This is the fifth time OSHA has cited the company for similar violations in the past three years. The company has not cooperated with OSHA during previous inspections, nor has it paid any portion of the $110,880 in total penalties assessed from those inspections.
The job sites included a home under construction on Denton Drive and an existing home on Patriot Lane. In inspections at both home sites, an OSHA compliance officer observed employees working on residential roofs without fall protection.
Failing to provide required fall protection is one of the most frequently cited OSHA standards. OSHA regulations require the use of a recommended means of fall protection, such as guardrail systems, safety nets, warning-line systems or personal fall arrest systems.
Antonio-Martinez was cited for one willful violation at each location for failure to provide fall protection.
A third willful violation was cited when the inspector observed workers exiting the roof via an extension ladder that only extended 1 foot above the upper landing surface of the roof. OSHA regulations require that ladders extend 3 feet over the landing for safe access.
A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health.
The roofing contractor had been cited for similar violations in 2011, 2012 and 2013 at work sites in Paris, Champaign and Mahomet.
Antonio-Martinez has 15 business days from receipt of his citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Source: OSHA
Topics Commercial Lines Workers' Compensation Business Insurance Illinois Contractors
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