Justin Construction Co. cited for willful and repeat safety violations following OSHA inspections; more than $188K in proposed fines

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Justin Construction Co. LLC has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration with six safety violations after OSHA inspectors observed employees at three area work sites performing residential construction without using a fall protection system. The inspections began in February 2014 as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction. Proposed penalties total $188,650.

"Falls continue to be the leading cause of death in construction, and this employer's blatant disregard for employees' safety is unacceptable," said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA's area director in Jacksonville. "It is imperative that any employee working from heights more than 6 feet be provided the proper fall protection equipment and trained how to properly use it."

Three willful violations were cited for the employer's failure to provide a fall protection system at two job sites, where employees were conducting decking work at heights of 6 feet or more, and for allowing workers to use the top step of a stepladder. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.

Two repeat violations were issued for permitting workers to use pressurized nail guns without providing proper eye protection and failing to provide fall protection systems for employees working on steep roofs at elevations between 10 and 16 feet. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/JustinConstruction_08212014.pdf .

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.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, fatal work injuries in Florida accounted for 218 of the 4,628 fatal work injuries reported nationally in 2012. Additional details are available at http://www.bls.gov.

A framing construction company, Justin Construction Co. has 15 business days from receipt of the 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 Jacksonville Area Office at 904-232-2895.