The owner of a Liverpool, Pennsylvania roofing company risked the lives of two of his children by exposing them to falls from heights while they worked on roofs atop a Mechanicsburg apartment complex in June 2024, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation found.
OSHA inspectors opened an investigation of S&L Roofing, Gutters and Siding after the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry notified the agency that the owner and his 12- and 14-year-old sons were doing roofing work. In addition to finding the children exposed to fall hazards, OSHA determined the minors were exposed to injuries while using an incorrectly set extension ladder and pneumatic nail guns in violation of federal regulations.
The agency issued the contractor a citation for five safety violations, including two classified as willful, and assessed $64,759 in proposed penalties, an amount set by federal statute.
S&L Roofing, Gutters and Siding, which provides home improvement services in the Harrisburg area, has 15 business days to comply or contest the findings before the OSHA review commission.
S&L Roofing is currently in litigation with the state of Pennsylvania after similar violations were cited by Pennsylvania safety inspectors in 2023. OSHA also cited the company for failing to use fall protective systems in two inspections in 2015.
Falls from heights are the construction industry’s leading cause of death. In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 1,069 construction workers died on the job. Of those deaths, 395 were related to falls from heights.
Source: Department of Labor
Topics Workers' Compensation Talent
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