Construction firm might have to pay $77,684 in penalties

• JM Brother Construction LLC, a residential construction firm that offers services such as roofing and masonry, faces proposed penalties of $77,684 following an OSHA investigation.
• OSHA inspectors observed employees of JM Brother Construction performing roofing work on a two-story home without the required fall protection systems.
• Additionally, the company was cited for exposing workers to struck-by hazards by allowing them to ride without seat belts in parts of the company’s cargo vans not designated for passengers, exposing workers to head impact injuries, and permitting the unsafe use of a ladder.
• JM Brother Construction can now comply, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the findings.
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No life jackets lead to fatality

• OSHA said an overloaded crane, unqualified crane operator and no life jackets led to a Homestead man’s drowning death after a Florida Keys crane collapse.
• The agency proposed $92,191 in fines for Upper Keys Marine Construction for the death of employee Jose Eduardo Reyes Ponce.
• Reyes was disconnecting a chain from the pile for the pile driving operation that used a crawler crane with a dropped hammer in a lead, operated from a barge.
• The pile driving equipment, where the victim was holding himself, dropped into the water with him. He was struck, trapped, and sunken to the bottom of the sea.
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Former dog care owner to pay $50,000

• A Boise dog daycare facility and its former owner to pay $50,000 for terminating two employees unlawfully for raising workplace safety concerns about being exposed to the risk of COVID019 amid the pandemic in June 2020.
• House of Hounds LLC and former owner Kayla Martin must pay each of the two employees $25,000 in general and punitive damages, provide a neutral employment recommendation, remove any reference to the incident from their employment records, and apologize publicly on social media.
• The court’s action follows an investigation by OSHA after two employees filed a whistleblower complaint, reporting that their employer fired them after they expressed concerns about working with a co-worker awaiting COVID-19 test results.
• OSHA investigators learned that, after the employees raised their concerns, Martin told them to finish what they were doing, clock out, and go home.
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Mississippi firms have poor safety record

• An American Independent Foundation review of OSHA records reveals that many of the companies Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves aided have been cited for health and safety violations.
• These firms have been assessed more than $400,000 in OSHA fines since 2018.
• Ajinomoto Foods said it would add 15 new jobs in 2020. The Mississippi Development Authority promised “assistance for the transportation and installation of the new production lines.” OSHA has fined the company at least $115,999 over violations.
• Albany Industries announced the addition of 85 new jobs in 2022. The MDA said it was providing assistance for building renovation. OSHA has fined the company at least $2,950 over violations.
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