Illinois Roofing Contractor Did Not Give Roofers Fall Protection, OSHA Says
The contractor was cited for violations related to fall protection in 2019 and 2022.
- By Alex Saurman
- Jun 12, 2023
A roofing contractor has been cited for fall-protection-related violations for the third time in five years.
According to a news release, OSHA issued a citation to JZ Exteriors and Repairs LLC’s operator Zuniga Ramos after a mid-April observation prompted an investigation. OSHA had initially seen six workers lacking fall protection when on roofs up to 12 feet high at a Greenville, Illinois site.
The investigation uncovered, according to OSHA, that Ramos did not:
- give fall protection to workers,
- train workers on using fall protection,
- have an accident prevention program, someone to conduct inspections and a fire extinguisher,
- correctly use ladders and
- de-energize circuits.
In total, the roofing contractor was issued a citation for five repeat, four serious and one other-than-serious violation and faces proposed penalties of $66,711.
OSHA previously cited Ramos in 2019 and 2022 for violations that dealt with fall protection. In fact, per the agency, the contractor has an outstanding balance of unpaid OSHA penalties totaling $31,163.
"Several workplace safety inspections show that Juan Zuniga Ramos is willing to put his employees in danger by exposing them to the real possibility of serious and sometimes fatal fall injuries," said OSHA Area Director Aaron Priddy in Fairview Heights, Illinois, in the news release.
"Falls are a leading cause of death in the construction industry, and yet JZ Exteriors and Repairs has ignored warnings given and fines assessed in OSHA inspections in 2019 and 2022. Ramos must fulfill his responsibility to ensure his workers' safety before tragedy strikes,” Priddy continued.
About the Author
Alex Saurman is a former Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety,who has since joined OH&S’s client services team. She continues to work closely with OH&S’s editorial team and contributes to the magazine.