OSHA Files $877,000 Case Against NYC Concrete Contractor
OSHA said it has filed $877,000 in penalties with its citations against 160 Broadway Corp., which does business as Broadway Concrete. The New York City-headquartered company is the concrete contractor for the construction of 77 Hudson, a project involving two 50-story condominium towers in Jersey City, N.J. The company is owned by Robert Cassera, who also owns Tri-State Employment Service and several other businesses, OSHA said.
The agency's investigation began Dec. 19, 2007, in response to a complaint alleging employees were exposed to fall hazards. Investigators found there was not adequate fall protection for employees exposed to falls from as high as 25 stories above the ground or protection from protruding rebar, OSHA alleged.
The violations are classified as willful "because Broadway Concrete was fully aware of OSHA's fall protection requirements," according to OSHA. "Broadway Concrete's superintendent for the 77 Hudson project, as well as its vice president were previously managers at other concrete companies that had violated the same standards on many previous occasions. In this case, OSHA visited the 77 Hudson project seven times between December 19, 2007 and January 24, 2008 and found the same violations on each successive floor as the building's height increased. Despite OSHA's repeated admonishments on each of these visits, Broadway Concrete's managers still failed to comply with the OSHA construction standards. As a result, OSHA cited the company for 15 willful violations, with $870,000 in penalties, and two serious violations, with $7,000 in penalties."
"The many alleged safety violations found at Broadway Concrete's site put employees at great risk for potential injuries or death," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Edwin Foulke, Jr. "Employers have a responsibility to take all required precautions to ensure a safe and healthy work environment."