US Department of Labor's OSHA cites JA Siding Construction Services for repeat and serious safety violations for exposing workers to fall hazards

SMYRNA, Ga. — Jose M. Hernandez Cruz, doing business as JA Siding Construction Services LLC, of Marietta, has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for three repeat and four serious safety violations. Citations were issued to the employer for exposing workers to falls and other hazards while employees were installing siding at a new residence on Westwood Road SE in Smyrna. OSHA began its inspection in February 2014 as part of the region's emphasis program on falls in construction. Penalties total $42,240.

"It is unacceptable that the employer continues to violate OSHA standards by exposing workers to serious fall and other hazards," said Christi Griffin, director of OSHA's Atlanta-West Area Office. "Falls are the leading cause of death in construction, and repeat violations demonstrate the employer's lack of commitment to safety and to the lives of its workers. The employer must take corrective action immediately."

The employer was cited for repeat violations for failing to ensure employees working on scaffolding systems more than 10 feet above the ground were protected from falls; to provide workers with fall protection systems; and to secure the scaffolding system to a base structure. OSHA proposes $32,560 in penalties for the repeat violations. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The employer was cited for these same violations in October 2013.

The serious violations, with $9,680 in penalties, were cited for failing to provide workers with eye and face protection; to ensure that the manufacturer did not exceed its safe operating pressure for hoses, pipes and valves; and not providing a training program for workers exposed to fall hazards. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

OSHA has created a fall prevention Web page at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls with detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection standards. The page offers fact sheets, posters and videos that vividly illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures.

The company 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 & Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report 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 Atlanta-West Area Office at 678-903-7301.

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.