OSHA Cites Illinois Contractor for Fall Hazards for Eighth Time Since 2015 -- Occupational Health & Safety

OSHA Cites Illinois Contractor for Fall Hazards for Eighth Time Since 2015

United Custom Homes LLC faces $264,143 in proposed penalties, in addition to $238,572 in unpaid OSHA penalties.

By Robert Yaniz Jr.
Feb 14, 2024

United Custom Homes LLC—an Oswego, Illinois-based construction contractor—is facing $264,143 in proposed OSHA fines for its continued failure to guard against fall hazards.

According to a release dated Feb. 12, this marks the eighth time since 2015 the agency has cited the company for violations relating to fall protection. During the recent August 2023 inspection, the agency observed employees working at heights up to 20 feet without the necessary protective equipment on a residential construction site in Naperville, Illinois.

United Custom Homes LLC received one repeat, one willful, one serious and one other-than-serious violation. These included a lack of fall protection equipment and training, improper ladder use and failure to regularly recertify workers in powered industrial vehicle operation. The company also has outstanding OSHA debt of $238,572 for unpaid penalties.

“United Custom Homes continues to ignore federal safety regulations and endanger workers’ lives by exposing them to deadly fall hazards,” OSHA Chicago South Area Director Jim Martineck in Tinley Park, Illinois, said in a statement. “Every employer has a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace, train workers and provide necessary equipment to keep them safe on the job. We will continue holding this employer accountable for their willing disregard of the law.”

United Custom Homes has 15 business days from the receipt of its latest 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.

About the Author

Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.

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