Repeated Ignored Safety Requirements Leads to $145K in Penalties for a Denver Contractor
Premier Roofing LLC exposed employees and subcontractors to fall hazards.
- By Shereen Hashem
- Aug 30, 2021
Citations and penalties are confirmed against a Denver roofing contractor by a federal administrative law judge for ignoring federal requirements to protect workers and subcontractors continuously from the risk of workplace falls, which is the leading cause of injury and death in the construction industry. An OSHA administrative law judge granted the U.S. Department of Labor’s request for summary judgement after an April 2019 federal safety and health inspection was conducted. It found that Premier Roofing LLC failed to site safety inspections and repeatedly exposed its employees and workers of M&M General Construction LLC, a subcontractor, to fall hazards at a large Aurora roofing project. OSHA issued repeat citations for both companies.
Premier Roofing LLC contested its citations to the commission while M&M settled its penalties in 2019. On August 6, the judge affirmed Premier Roofing’s citations for failing to conduct safety inspections and its repeated citation for its lack of fall protection. The court also ordered the company to pay $145,858 in penalties that OSHA declared, according to a press release.
"Exposing workers to fall hazards is an all-too-common violation in the roofing industry," said OSHA Area Director Chad Vivian in Englewood, Colorado. "Premier Roofing has repeatedly put its workers at serious risk at its jobsites. Employers have a responsibility to inspect their worksites for hazards, train their employees to recognize and correct hazards, and enforce safety rules on the job."
"Although Premier had a safety program requiring employees to wear fall protection while working at heights, it still allowed its employees to work on roofs without wearing any such protection, while also ignoring numerous similar violations by its subcontractor. Contractors have an obligation to take steps to protect their workers, and those of their subcontractors. A safety program is useless if it sits on a shelf gathering dust," said U.S. Department of Labor Regional Solicitor John Rainwater in Denver.
Learn more about fall protection here.
About the Author
Shereen Hashem is the Associate Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety magazine.