A series of inspections by the U.S. Department of Labor has found a Newark-based construction contractor defying federal safety regulations by exposing employees to more than 20 violations, including potentially deadly falls, at six southern and central New Jersey work sites in early 2023.
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Thursday, July 13, 2023
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Don't Fry Friday - May 24th
Workers need to be aware about skin cancer and take preventative action to protect themselves from the sun's rays
Skin Cancer Remains the Most Common Cancer in US, Americans Urged to Take Action/EPA, CDC, FDA, National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention provide sun safety tips for 'Don’t Fry Day': May 24th
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), joined by the National Council on Skin Cancer
“While we’re making progress toward restoring the Earth’s ozone layer, Americans need to take steps now for extra protection from harmful UV rays and skin cancer,” said Janet McCabe, deputy assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “Americans can stay safe under the sun and enjoy the outdoors by taking simple steps such as using sunscreen and wearing UV-blocking sunglasses.”
“If current trends continue, one in five Americans will get skin cancer in their lifetime, and many of these skin cancers could be prevented by reducing UV exposure from the sun and indoor tanning devices,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Of particular concern is the increase we are seeing in rates of melanoma, a potentially deadly form of skin cancer. In the United States, melanoma is one of the most common cancers among people ages 15 to 29 years.”
“Spending time in the sun increases the risk of skin cancer. Everyone can get sunburned and suffer harmful effects of exposure to UV radiation from time spent outdoors,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “Consumers can protect themselves by choosing a sunscreen that is right for them, wearing protective clothing and limiting time in the sun.”
To make it easier for people to choose products that effectively reduce the health risks of UV overexposure, the FDA has issued new labeling rules for sunscreen products. These include:
- Sunscreens proven to protect against both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays can be labeled “Broad Spectrum.” Both UVB and UVA radiation contribute to the sun’s damaging effects.
- Sunscreen products that meet the criteria for being called “Broad Spectrum” and have a Sunscreen Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or higher may state that they reduce the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging when used as directed with other sun protection measures.
- Any product that is not “Broad Spectrum,” or has an SPF below 15, must have a warning stating that the product has not been shown to help prevent skin cancer or early skin aging.
- New water resistance claims on the front label must indicate whether the sunscreen remains effective for 40 minutes or 80 minutes while swimming or sweating.
In addition to using Broad Spectrum sunscreen, here are some tips to help enjoy the outdoors safely this Memorial Day weekend and throughout the summer: - Seek shade, not sun: Seek the shade when the sun’s rays are strongest; avoid sunburns, intentional tanning, and use of tanning beds; use extra caution near reflective surfaces like water and sand.
- Wear protective clothing: Wear sun-protective clothing, a wide-brimmed hat, and UV-blocking sunglasses.
- Check the UV Index: EPA and the National Weather Service offer the UV Index--an hourly forecast of UV radiation that allows Americans to plan outdoor activities in ways that prevent overexposure to the sun. Download EPA's free UV Index app at www.epa.gov/enviro/mobile/.
According to the CDC, the states with the highest melanoma death rates include Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and West Virginia. Americans are encouraged to learn more about skin cancer in their states at www2.epa.gov/sunwise/skin-cancer-facts-your-state.
More on EPA sun safety tips: http://www2.epa.gov/sunwise
More on the Montreal Protocol: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/intpol/
More on FDA sunscreen labeling rules: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm258416.htm
More on CDC skin cancer prevention efforts: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/ and cancer statistics:http://wonder.cdc.gov/cancer.html.
More on the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention: http://www.skincancerprevention.org/
More on CDC skin cancer prevention efforts: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/ and cancer statistics:http://wonder.cdc.gov/cancer.html.
More on the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention: http://www.skincancerprevention.org/
Read more about "skin cancer" and workers' compensation:
May 06, 2013
Many workers suffer from compensable diseases caused by sun exposure. As the world's ozone layer continues to be deleted, More and more workers wo who have exposed to the sun on their jobs are suffering from sun ...
Jun 21, 2011
The first day of summer brings attention to working outside, sun exposure and the risk of skin cancer. Workers Compensation coverage offers a unique opportunity to provide affirmative action to prevent, detect and treat high ...
Nov 05, 2012
Workers' Compensation: Sun Exposure, Prevention and Workers ... Jun 21, 2011. Sun Exposure ... The first day of summer brings attention to working outside, sun exposure and the risk of skin cancer. Workers Compensation ...
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Ohio Upholds New Limits on Liability Actions Against Employers
The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld a 2005 statute that restricts an employee's direct liability actions against employers. The statute requires a showing that the employer deliberately intended to injury an employee. Employees remain restricted to the the Ohio workers' compensation remedy for recovery of benefits.
"As this court has often recognized, workers' compensation laws are the result of a unique mutual compromise between employees and employers, in which employees give up their common-law remedy and accept possibly lower monetary recovery, but with greater assurance that they will receive reasonable compensation for their injury," Justice Robert Cupp wrote in one of the two opinions he authored. "Employers in turn give up common-law defenses but are protected from unlimited liability."
"As this court has often recognized, workers' compensation laws are the result of a unique mutual compromise between employees and employers, in which employees give up their common-law remedy and accept possibly lower monetary recovery, but with greater assurance that they will receive reasonable compensation for their injury," Justice Robert Cupp wrote in one of the two opinions he authored. "Employers in turn give up common-law defenses but are protected from unlimited liability."
The issue was decided when the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio certified constitutional questions to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Click here to read more about intentional actions and workers' compensation.
| Kaminski v. Metal & Wire Prods. Co. (Slip Opinion) | 2008-0857 | 3/23/2010 | 3/23/2010 | 2010-Ohio-1027 |
| Stetter v. R.J. Corman Derailment Servs., L.L.C. (Slip Opinion) | 2008-0972 | 3/23/2010 | 3/23/2010 | 2010-Ohio-1029 |
Click here to read more about intentional actions and workers' compensation.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
OSHA cites Brick, NJ-based contractor for continuing to expose workers to falls and other hazards at Secaucus work site
The repeat safety violations, with a $53,900 penalty, involve failing to provide safe access to a scaffold and ensure workers were not exposed to a 35-foot fall while working on an unguarded scaffold. A repeat violation occurs when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The company was cited for similar violations in 2006, 2007 and 2011.
Six serious safety and health violations, with a $20,930 penalty, include failing to properly store propane tanks; ensure a competent person inspected a scaffold before employees worked on it; establish and implement a written respiratory protection program for workers required to wear respirators, including medical evaluations and respiratory protection training; develop and implement an effective written hazard communication program for workers exposed to hazardous chemicals, including crystalline silica; provide chemical hazard training to employees working with hazardous chemicals; and maintain material safety data sheets. A serious violation occurs when there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from dangerous tasks without proper safety measures.
"This employer continues to jeopardize the safety and health of its workers by failing to correct these hazards, which is unacceptable," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office. "Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace, and will be held legally accountable when they fail to do so."
The company also has received one other-than-serious violation, with no penalty, for failure to provide respirator fit testing and evaluate employees for safe use of powered industrial truck. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
La Conti Concrete & Masonry Inc. employed 34 workers at the Secaucus work site and has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, ask for an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
In April, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a campaign to provide employers and workers with life-saving information and educational materials about working safely from ladders, scaffolds and roofs in an effort to prevent deadly falls in the construction industry. In 2010, more than 10,000 construction workers were injured as a result of falling while working from heights, and more than 250 workers were killed. OSHA's fall prevention campaign was developed in partnership with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda program. More detailed information is available in English and Spanish on fall protection standards at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls.
Read more about scaffolding
Jun 11, 2012
The willful violations carry a $92,400 penalty and are due to a lack of fall protection for employees working on a scaffold that was not fully planked. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary ...
Feb 19, 2011
OSHA found employees exposed to fall hazards ranging from 27 to 41 feet while working without fall protection on a scaffold that was not fully guarded, climbing atop the scaffold's guardrails and standing on an empty plastic ...
Feb 07, 2012
The serious violations, with $36,960 in penalties, include failing to protect workers from fall and impalement hazards, ensure scaffold platforms were laid correctly, provide proper ladder rung construction, make sure guardrails...
May 23, 2012
"Whether working on a roof, a scaffold or in an aerial lift, all workers must have and correctly use the proper equipment to prevent falls," Kulick adds. In April, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a new campaign to ...
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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Better Chemistry Through Regulation
The newly released movie, Dark Waters, provides a dramatic insight into the corporate disregard to human safety and life. The film, to be nationally released this weekend, puts into focus the chemical industry's utter disregard for human life that is compounded by the lack of governmental regulation of an out-of-control business.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Turning Over in Bed Not Compensable Event
A NJ Workers' Compensation Court has held that turning over in bed to shut off an alarm clock, an act that aggravating a pre-existing back injury, was not a compensable workers' compensation event. The Court held that the subsequent event, turning in bed, was an intervening, superseding event unrelated to the original work related accident.
The Court enunciated that in workers' compensation claims the injured worker has the burden of proof to establish the causal relationship of the subsequent event to the prior event. This "bridging" of causal relationship is well defined in the law of torts under the so-called "but for rule." The second event, turning in bed, was considered an unrelated intentional act and not compensable.
Judge Philip A. Tornetta stated in his opinion, "... There was not a scintilla of evidence to refute the fact that petitioner’s turning in bed was nothing more than an innocent, unintentional act , which no doctor had restricted him from doing."
Ippolitto v County of Bergen, et al., NJ Division of Workers' Compensation, CP 2007-25283, 2010-17376, Decided August 1, 2011.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Acetone Explosion Results in $917,000 OSHA Fine for Bostik Inc.
US Labor Department’s OSHA cites 50 safety violations, proposes $917,000 in fines against Bostik Inc. following Middleton, Mass., explosion
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Bostik Inc. for 50 alleged violations of workplace safety standards following a March 13 explosion at the company's Middleton plant in which four workers were injured. The adhesives manufacturer faces a total of $917,000 in proposed fines.
OSHA's inspection identified several serious deficiencies in the company's process safety management program, a detailed set of requirements and procedures employers must follow to proactively address hazards associated with processes and equipment that involve large amounts of hazardous chemicals. In this case, the chemical was acetone, used in a PSM-covered process known as direct solvation. On the day of the explosion, a valve on a transfer line inadvertently was left open, resulting in the release of flammable acetone vapors. The vapors exploded after being ignited by an undetermined source.
"The requirements of OSHA's PSM standard are stringent and comprehensive because the stakes are so high," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "Failure to evaluate, anticipate, address and prevent hazardous conditions associated with a process can result in a catastrophic incident such as an explosion."
"In this case, Bostik knew from prior third party and internal compliance audits conducted at the plant that aspects of its PSM program were incomplete or inadequate, and misclassified electrical equipment was in use. The company did not take adequate steps to address those conditions," said Jeffrey A. Erskine, OSHA's area director for northeastern Massachusetts. "Luckily, the explosion happened when there were few workers in the plant. Otherwise, this incident could have resulted in a catastrophic loss of life."
Specifically, OSHA found that the process safety information for the solvation process was incomplete. The employer's analysis of hazards related to the process did not address previous incidents with a potential for catastrophic results, such as forklifts that struck process equipment, and did not address human factors such as operator error, communication between shift changes and employee fatigue from excessive overtime. In addition, the company did not ensure that a forklift and electrical equipment, such as a light fixture, switches and a motor, were approved for use in Class 1 hazardous locations where flammable gases or vapors are present.
As a result, OSHA has issued Bostik nine willful citations, with $630,000 in proposed fines, for these conditions. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Bostik Inc. also has been issued 41 serious citations, with $287,000 in fines, for a range of other conditions, including an incomplete and deficient emergency response plan, inadequate training for employees required to fight fires, obstructed exit access and electrical hazards, and additional PSM deficiencies. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
The Bostik Inc. citations are available at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Bostik_Inc_315298281.pdf andhttp://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Bostik_Inc_315298307.pdf.
Detailed information on process safety management is available athttp://www.osha.gov/SLTC/processsafetymanagement/index.html and http://www.osha.gov/pls/publications/publication.athruz?pType=Industry&pID=166.
Bostik Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The investigation was conducted by OSHA's Andover Area Office; telephone 978-837-4460.
To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Bio-Tech Worker Awarded $1.37 Million in Suit Against Pfizer
A former bio-technical scientist of Pfizer was awarded $1.37 Million dollars as a result of being infected by an experimental virus in the company's laboratories. After a 3 week trial, the award was entered in what is considered to be the first successful employee claims in the biotech and nanotech industry.
While the intentional tort claim was dismissed by the Judge and injured worker proceeded under the theory that the company, Pfizer, violated whistleblower laws. The plaintiff also alleged that The Occupational Safety and Health Administration failed to thoroughly investigate the matter and take action.
Click here for a detailed analysis of the case "Prescription for Bioterrorism by Steve Zeltzer.
Click here to read more about nanotechnology and workers compensation.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
OSHA Saves Lives & Reduces Workers Compensation Costs 26%
Statement of Jordan Barab
Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Occupational Safety and Health
U.S. Department of Labor
Before the
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
Committee on Education and the Workforce
U.S. House of Representatives
June 28, 2012
"Regarding the importance and effectiveness of OSHA's enforcement programs, recent studies confirm the effectiveness of enforcement in ensuring the safety and health of workers. We were very heartened by research from Michael Toffel and David Levine, business school economists at Harvard University and the University of California, respectively, which demonstrates OSHA workplace inspections not only improve safety, but also save billions of dollars for employers through reduced workers' compensation costs. The study, entitled "Randomized Government Safety Inspections Reduce Worker Injuries with No Detectable Job Loss1," reports that companies subject to random inspections by CAL/OSHA showed a 9.4 percent decrease in injury rates compared with uninspected firms in the four years following the inspection. With no evidence of a negative impact on jobs, employment, or profitability of the inspected firms, the decrease in injuries led to a 26 percent reduction in workers' compensation costs – translating to an average savings of $350,000 per company. Savings were observed among both small and large employers, and, if extrapolated to the full, nation-wide extent of OSHA inspection activities, would amount to savings of roughly $6 billion nationwide. These findings lend support to our belief that OSHA regulatory enforcement save lives while reducing workers' compensation costs for American businesses."
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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman1.973.696.7900jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman1.973.696.7900jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.
More Blog Postings About OSHA
Jun 27, 2012
A finding of a willful OSHA violation is not conclusive in determining whether the employer committed an intentional wrong for the purposes of the Workers' Compensation Act. Instead, it is one factor among the totality of ...
Jun 21, 2012
Transportation injuries at work lead the list of industrial accidents and OSHA is now enforcing safety procedures to hopefully reduce trucking injuries. Historically the trucking and transportation industry has take a "hard line" ...
Jun 19, 2012
Three concurrent investigations were completed by OSHA's offices in Columbia, S.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Harrisburg, Pa. The investigations revealed reasonable cause to believe that the employees' reporting of their ...
Jun 11, 2012
"This company is risking worker injury and possible death by failing to provide proper fall protection," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office, which conducted the inspection. "Employers need to know ...
Thursday, March 10, 2016
NJ Company Fined $52,000 by OSHA for Unprotected Trench
Employer name: D.S. Meyer Enterprises LLC, 34 Maple Ave. Waldwick, New Jersey
Site: 45 Waterview Blvd., Parsippany, New Jersey
Citations issued: On Feb. 29, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Parsippany Area Office issued citations for five serious and one willful violation.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
OSHA cites New York contractor for exposing workers to fall and other hazards
RCP Services Inc. of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for nine safety violations while performing concrete work at a residential apartment complex on Big Island Drive in Jacksonville. An inspection was initiated in August after an OSHA inspector observed employees working without fall protection. Proposed penalties total $47,000.
One willful violation is for allowing employees to work on elevated surfaces without fall protection. The citation carries a $35,000 penalty. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Eight serious violations involve exposed and protruding rebar, a lack of eye and face protection, using a welding cable that required repair, using a damaged extension cord, exposing workers to falling objects, not maintaining fire extinguishing equipment and having unprotected holes in the floor that could cause workers to trip or fall. The citations carry $12,000 in penalties. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
"Falls are the leading cause of death for workers in residential construction," said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA's area director in Jacksonville. "Employers must take responsibility for ensuring that workers have and wear proper equipment at all times."
OSHA has created a fall prevention Web page – http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls – with detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection standards. The page offers fact sheets, posters and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures.
OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are working with trade associations, labor unions, employers, universities, community and faith-basedorganizations, and consulates to provide employers and workers – especially vulnerable, low-literacy workers – with education and training on common-sense fall prevention equipment and strategies that save lives.
RCP Services specializes in tunnel form construction. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed 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.
....
One willful violation is for allowing employees to work on elevated surfaces without fall protection. The citation carries a $35,000 penalty. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Eight serious violations involve exposed and protruding rebar, a lack of eye and face protection, using a welding cable that required repair, using a damaged extension cord, exposing workers to falling objects, not maintaining fire extinguishing equipment and having unprotected holes in the floor that could cause workers to trip or fall. The citations carry $12,000 in penalties. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
"Falls are the leading cause of death for workers in residential construction," said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA's area director in Jacksonville. "Employers must take responsibility for ensuring that workers have and wear proper equipment at all times."
OSHA has created a fall prevention Web page – http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls – with detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection standards. The page offers fact sheets, posters and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures.
OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are working with trade associations, labor unions, employers, universities, community and faith-basedorganizations, and consulates to provide employers and workers – especially vulnerable, low-literacy workers – with education and training on common-sense fall prevention equipment and strategies that save lives.
RCP Services specializes in tunnel form construction. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed 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.
....
Jon L.Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson). For over 3 decades theLaw Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.comhave been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
Read more about OSHA
Nov 05, 2012
"Storm recovery workers are working around the clock to clean up areas impacted by the storm," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's New York regional administrator. "We want to make sure that workers are aware of the hazards...
Sep 21, 2012
Forklift injuries produce serious workers' compensation claims, so it is no surprise that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is acutely concerned about forklift safety rule ...
Sep 14, 2012
"Asbestos is an extremely hazardous material that can potentially cause lifelong, irreversible health conditions," said John Hermanson, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas. "It is imperative that OSHA's safety and health ...
Aug 18, 2012
OSHA initiated its March investigation in response to a complaint and also as part of the agency's national emphasis program on process safety management for covered chemical facilities. Proposed penalties total $82,500.
Related articles
Friday, November 18, 2011
Claim Permitted Against Employer For Concealment of Chemical Dangers
In satisfying the two prong (conduct and context) NJ test for an intentional tort against an employer, the employee's estate set forth that the employer had intentionally and fraudulently concealed information of the hazardous nature of the chemicals and substances that the employee worked with as an exterminator.
The employee, who applied pesticides for 11 years, was not furnished with adequate safety equipment and was not provided with warning materials available to the employer.
The court held that employer's conduct was substantially certain to cause injury or death. The estate filed a certification substantiating the events surrounding the exposure and death; material Safety Data Sheets; and expert reports. Where the conduct of the employer is actively misleading and illness and death were substantially certain to occur the employ can be held liable.
Where the conduct of the employer in not protecting the employee is more than a fact of industrial life and is "plainly beyond anything the Legislature intended the Workers' Compensation Act to immune," the compensation act is not an exclusive remedy against the employer.
The Court held that the employer "understood the hazardous nature of the chemicals but failed to provide the decedent with the equipment necessary to ensure his safety. ".... the employer turned a "blind eye to the risks inherent chemical in the use of the chemicals" and went as far as hiding those risks so that the employee was not aware of their existence. "Concealment is hardly an expected fact of life in industrial
employment."
Click Here For Complete Decision: Blackshear v. Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc., Civ. Action No. 10-3585 (KSH) (USDCT - NJ 2011)
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
Monday, June 11, 2012
OSHA fines Clifton, NJ, stucco contractor more than $108,000 for exposing workers to fall hazards
 |
| The seal of the United States Department of Labor (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited DD Stucco and Renovation LLC for six safety — including two willful — violations related to fall hazards at a Mountain Lakes work site. OSHA opened an inspection in November 2011 as part of its local emphasis program on falls and proposed a total of $108,240 in penalties.
"This company is risking worker injury and possible death by failing to provide proper fall protection," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office, which conducted the inspection. "Employers need to know that falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry, and proper precautions must be taken."
The willful violations carry a $92,400 penalty and are due to a lack of fall protection for employees working on a scaffold that was not fully planked. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Four serious violations, which carry a $15,840 penalty, are for a scaffold that was not secured to the structure or supported on an adequate firm foundation, unstable objects used to support the scaffold and employees climbing across braces to access the scaffold. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
In April, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a new campaign to provide employers and workers with life-saving information and educational materials about working safely from ladders, scaffolds and roofs in an effort to prevent deadly falls in the construction industry. In 2010, more than 10,000 construction workers were injured as a result of falling while working from heights, and more than 250 workers were killed. OSHA's fall prevention campaign was developed in partnership with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda program. More detailed information is available in English and Spanish on fall protection standards at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls.
"Fall hazards involving these and other safety issues can be avoided when an illness and injury prevention program is developed and implemented, and management and workers proactively identify and eliminate hazardous conditions," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York.
The citations can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/DDStucco_316089713_0521_12.pdf*.
DD Stucco and Renovation is headquartered in Clifton and had three workers at the Mountain Lakes site. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Parsippany office at 973-263-1003.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA's role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
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