OSHA Suing Illinois Roofer

October 12, 2023

Illinois roofer failed to pay OSHA fines

  • OSHA is suing a roofing company in Waukegan, Illinois that has been cited nine times in recent years, alleging the company has failed to pay $360,531 in penalties for exposing employees to falls.
  • OSHA said the fines were for “repeatedly exposing employees to falls from elevations,” the leading cause of fatal injuries in the construction industry.
  • The agency’s investigation found that Grayslake resident Joshua Herion, who is the operator of ECS Roofing Professionals, exposed employees to deadly fall hazards at two separate job sites in Illinois and Wisconsin in October 2022.
  • OSHA found the company did not provide employees with required fall arrest systems, a safety net or guardrails as they installed siding and roofing materials atop roofs in Hoffman Estates and Waukesha, Wisconsin.
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GAO urges for better OSHA protection

  • The General Accounting Office recommends that OSHA assesses actions, such as an industry standard, to protect meat and poultry workers from infectious diseases.
  • The GAO also recommended that OSHA improve collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  • The Supreme Court’s January 2022 stay of OSHA’s COVID-19 ETS leaves room for the agency to work on a standard to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the workplace.
  • OSHA may decide to wait until an infectious disease pandemic arises.
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Man wins fight after serious injury

  • Bismarck Castro was working for Allstate Construction & Builder LLC in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, when he fell from a second-floor balcony and hit his head on a wood piece before coming to rest on the concrete.
  • Allstate representatives told the hospital the injuries didn’t happen on the job, so workers’ compensation insurance isn’t paying the medical costs.
  • When Castro was released from the hospital, company representatives took him to a Cedar Rapids house and would not let him leave, according to the lawsuit.
  • De Leon’s employer eventually reported the injuries happened on the job, which means workers’ compensation pays for medical care and disability benefits. By receiving these benefits, employees agree not to sue their employer. OSHA is investigating the incident.
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Newsom signs last remaining safety bill

  • California Gov, Gavin Newsom signed the only remaining occupational safety and health bill left this legislative season.
  • The bill, AB 521 sponsored by Assemblyman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), requires the Cal/OSHA Standards Board to draft potential rulemaking requiring at least one single-user toilet facility on all construction sites designated for “employees who self-identify as female or nonbinary.”
  • The board has a deadline of December 31st, 2025, to adopt the regulation.
  • The “nonbinary” language was added at the committee level to make the bill “more inclusive.” AB 521 states that shared bathrooms pose sanitation and safety barriers to underrepresented groups in construction.
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