Illinois contractor Robert Barringer III’s long history of putting his workers in danger of debilitating or fatal falls at his company’s job sites continues, this time at a residential home under construction in Glen Carbon, according to federal safety officials.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Barringer Brothers Roofing for two willful, two repeated and six serious safety violations.
The agency opened an inspection on May 18, 2016, after inspectors observed five roofers working at a height of 13 feet without adequate fall protection. The citations, issued on July 29, proposed penalties of $89,100.
“Robert Barringer has shown a callous disregard for the safety of his employees and utter indifference to the law. OSHA will use every option available to us to hold him accountable for his shameless behavior,” said Aaron Priddy, OSHA’s area director in Fairview Heights.
Barringer’s extensive history of federal workplace safety violations extends back to 2006. Currently in default on $267,900 in federal penalties, OSHA has cited him 19 times under various company names in the past decade for failing to protect workers from fall hazards — the construction industry’s most lethal danger
In April 2016, OSHA placed Barringer in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program after citing fall hazards on three separate job sites. His Belleville-based company has not responded to the April citations or the proposed penalties of $103,840.
The department is currently working to collect all monies owed as a result of the previously levied and affirmed penalties. The agency has cited Robert Barringer III previously under the operating names Barringer Brothers Roofing, Barringer Brothers Inc. and Barringer Brothers Construction Inc.
Inspectors also noted other hazards in May, including employees without eye protection using nail guns, the absence of a competent person to provide regular job site inspections to monitor for safety hazards and a lack of fire extinguishers. The company has also failed to initiate and maintain an accident prevention program, a hazard cited by OSHA in 2013.
Source: OSHA
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