Florida roofer faces penalties
- For roofing workers without required fall protection, one wrong or unsteady step can lead to serious, debilitating injuries or worse, a danger to which two Florida contractors exposed 12 workers at a Davie worksite in April 2023.
- Inspectors with OSHA observed employees of A1A Roofing Contractor LLC of Loxahatchee working without fall protection on pitched roofs at heights up to 32 feet.
- They also found the subcontractor allowed one worker to use a broken harness and failed to train employees on how to recognize and prevent falls. OSHA cited the company for similar violations in September 2022.
- OSHA issued a citation to A1A Roofing for two willful violations, one repeat violation and three serious violations and proposed $163,044 in penalties. The agency issued Paul Bange Roofing a serious citation and proposed $10,938 in penalties.
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Convictions after deadly explosion
- Two Didion Milling Inc. officials were convicted by a federal jury on several charges following a deadly 2017 explosion that killed five employees and seriously injured more than a dozen others at a corn mill in Cambria, Wisconsin.
- The mill exploded due to a buildup of combustible dust.
- The jury found Didion Milling’s vice president of operations, Derrick Clark, and former food safety superintendent, Shawn Mesner, guilty of workplace safety, environmental, fraud, and obstruction of justice charges.
- Clark was convicted of conspiring to falsify documents, making false Clean Air Act compliance certifications as Didion’s “responsible official” and obstructing the OSHA investigation.
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Watchdog: Mine safety data inaccurate
- The federal government wants to improve how it documents mine inspections.
- A 63-page report from the Inspector General faulted the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration for how it determines if a mine needs to be inspected and how the agency accounts for inspections conducted.
- For fiscal years 2019 and 2020, MSHA incorrectly reported to both Congress and the public that the agency had a 100% inspection completion rate
- MSHA wrongly reported a 100% completion rate for two years and 1,200 injuries happened at mines that were believed to have been closed.
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Charter renewed federal worker advisory committee
- The Department of Labor has renewed the two-year charter for OSHA’s Federal Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health.
- The committee advises the labor secretary on workplace safety and health for federal employees. A
- The charter renewal extends through Sept. 25, 2025.
- President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order to continue FACOSH and other federal advisory committees. DOL then approved the charter renewal.
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