Auburn, Alabama, contractor J and N Construction cited for serious safety violations following US Department of Labor OSHA inspection

AUBURN, Ala. — Jose Rodriguez, doing business as J and N Construction, was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for two repeat and two serious safety violations for exposing employees to fall and amputation hazards following a June inspection at the East Lake subdivision work site. Proposed penalties total $42,240.

"J and N of Norcross, Georgia, has been previously cited by OSHA for fall violations five times and for ladder usage violations twice," said Joseph Roesler, director of OSHA's Mobile Area Office. "It is troubling to see that this employer is not taking the safety of its workers seriously."

The repeat citations, with $36,960 in penalties, were issued for the employer's failure to provide fall protection for employees walking on the top of framed walls. Additionally, the employer failed to ensure that the ladder used to access a roof extended at least 3 feet above the landing area. 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. J and N had been cited for these same violations in 2013.

Two serious citations, with penalties totaling $5,280, were issued for exposing workers to amputation hazards by allowing employees to disable the safety guard on the hand-operated circular saw and for exposing workers to fall hazards by allowing them to use a makeshift ladder that did not have the proper bracing. 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.