August 1, 2016

Employer name: Anthony Smith, doing business as Center Stage

Inspection site: 3901 Michael Blvd., Mobile, Alabama 36609

Citations issued: Citations were issued to the employer on July 29.

Investigation findings: Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration observed employees of Center Stage exposed to fall hazards up to 12 feet while installing siding at the Orleans Place Apartments. OSHA cited the company for three willful and four serious safety violations. The agency opened the inspection under its Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction.

The willful citations were issued to the employer for:

Exposing employees to fall hazards created by not fully planked scaffold.
Failing to provide a ladder to access the scaffold.
Not providing workers with fall protection equipment.
The serious citations relate to the employer:

Allowing workers to use powered nail guns without eye protection.
Failing to install baseplates on the scaffold.
Not having a competent person inspect the scaffold.
Not training employees on the hazards associated with scaffolding.
Proposed penalties: $42,200

Quote: “Center Stage failed to fulfill its legal obligation to protect employees at the workplace from dangerous falls and other serious hazards,” said Joseph Roesler, OSHA’s area director in Mobile. “The employer needs to assess its safety program and take corrective action to protect workers.”

The citations can be viewed at: https://www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/newsroom/newsreleases/OSHA20161543b.pdf

Based in Biloxi, Mississippi, Center Stage has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Mobile Area Office at 251-441-6131.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.