Ohio Contractor Again Cited for Exposing Workers to Fall Hazards; Fined $253.5K
Federal workplace safety officials say an Ohio contractor continues to defy federal safety requirements to ensure workers use fall protection.
OSHA reports that Orwell, Ohio-based roofing contractor Neal Weaver and his company have been cited six times in 5 years for ignoring the industry’s most deadly hazard. The agency issued two willful violations and proposed $253,556 in penalties.
A recent workplace inspection found that Weave continues to put himself and his workers at risk of injury or worse by defying federal requirements to use fall protection and have protective equipment readily available on job sites.
OSHA inspectors observed Neal Weaver and an employee of his roofing company — operating as Grand Valley Carpentry LLC — working without fall protection on a residential roof nearly 20 feet off the ground.
OSHA cited Weaver — who, in the past, has not cooperated with federal safety inspectors under a previous company name, Dutch Heritage LLC — for exposing workers to deadly fall hazards for the sixth time in five years. Inspectors also found the crew working without required eye protection.
OSHA cited Dutch Heritage for similar hazards in December 2016, August and September 2018, and in November and December 2019. Weaver has not responded to the citations, provided abatement or paid penalties. OSHA has referred his unpaid penalties to debt collection. In December 2019, Weaver changed his company name to Grand Valley Carpentry.
In 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 1,061 construction workers died on the job, 401 of whom succumbed after a fall from elevation. In fiscal year 2020, fall protection was the standard most frequently cited by OSHA in construction-industry inspections.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its 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