Roofing Contractor Faces Penalties for Repeated Fall Protection Violations
A New Jersey roofing contractor faces $328,545 in OSHA fines for repeated safety violations, including fall hazards at three worksites.
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- Jan 07, 2025
OSHA has cited Newark, New Jersey-based roofing contractor RRC Home Improvement Inc. for severe safety violations after federal inspectors found workers repeatedly exposed to fall hazards at three North Jersey worksites in just one month.
According to a recent release, RRC Home Improvement faces $328,545 in fines. The inspections began in June 2024 after reports of employees working on a roof in Dover without fall protection. A month later, inspectors found similar violations at two other sites in Lodi during the agency's National Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction.
In addition, inspectors uncovered other safety violations, including the lack of hard hats, eye protection, fire extinguishers, non-compliant scaffold poles and unsafe ladder use. OSHA cited RRC Home Improvement for four willful and seven serious violations.
This is not the first time RRC Home Improvement has been penalized for safety lapses. Since 2017, the company has faced five inspections resulting in citations for failing to protect workers from fall hazards. Due to the willful nature of its violations, RRC Home Improvement has been added to OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which targets companies demonstrating repeated disregard for worker safety.
"Failing to provide and use fall protection when working at elevation - in this case on rooftops - is a disaster waiting to happen," OSHA Area Director Lisa Levy in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, said in a statement. "Despite being cited multiple times since 2017, RRC Home Improvement continues to disregard critical safety standards, putting workers at grave risk. Falls remain the leading cause of fatalities and serious injuries in the construction industry, making this repeated negligence unacceptable."
RRC Home Improvement has 15 business days to comply with the citations, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.