Companies in trouble for repeat violations
- OSHA handed down some heavy fines in the third quarter of this year with some penalties exceeding $1 million.
- Charm Builders in Ohio was fined $1,090,231 for five repeated and one serious violation for failing to comply with fall protection standards, but the company is contesting the ruling.
- Allways Roofing Inc. in Washington state was hit with a $788,000 fine for five willful, one repeat, and one other-than-serious violation stemming from a February inspection.
- United Roofing Solutions was fined $305,254 for alleged failures to comply with OSHA’s fall protection standards and the company is also contesting the fine.
OSHA proposes fines for Boston firms
- NorthStar Contracting Group Inc. and Suffolk Construction Inc. in Boston face $691,000 in OSHA fines for several violations.
- An employee of an Everett demolition contractor lost his legs when a concrete mezzanine platform on the west wall of a building collapsed during demolition and asbestos abatement operations.
- The agency issued citations to NorthStar for three willful violations, four serious violations, and one other-than-serious violation of workplace safety standards and proposed $399,864 in penalties.
- OSHA also issued two willful and three serious citations to Suffolk Construction and proposed $292,116 in penalties for the company’s failure to inspect the contractor’s work in the asbestos-regulated containment area, among other violations.
California alters COVID standard
- Cal/OSHA’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health won’t add exclusion pay to the non-emergency version of its COVID standard, according to Deputy Chief for Health Eric Berg.
- Businesses are relieved that the exclusion pay provision is out but unhappy that the stand is proceeding,.
- Adding pay for employees required to be excluded from the workplace because of COVID would require a delay in implementing the proposed extended standard of at least several months, Berg said.
- The Standards Board will vote on the regulation at its December meeting, and the standard is expected to take effect at the first of the year.
Migrant workers have long wait for OSHA course
- New York City requires 40 hours of OSHA-certified training for workers on building and demolition jobs.
- The few free classes available are now overcrowded and it’s been difficult to meet the demand, especially among the migrant workers.
- These delays often mean that on-the-books jobs will remain out of reach even after they wait the legally required 180 days for a U.S. work permit.
- Workers can pay for their own 40 hours of training, at a cost of about $400 to $650, but free courses are much harder to attend.