Transformers Construction and Buildtronix in Jacksonville, Florida, continues to put employees at risk of dangerous falls and eye protection hazards

Employer name: Transformers Construction Services Inc. and Buildtronix LLC, owned by Leanna Richardson.

Inspection sites: 25 Molasses Court, St. Johns, Florida 32259 and 65 Morning Star Way, Ponte Vedra, Florida 32081

Date citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the employer citations on June 26.

Inspection findings: OSHA cited two willful, one repeat and two serious violations to the employer after inspections in February and April 2015 were initiated as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction. Compliance officers in the area observed workers exposed to fall hazards while performing residential construction. The willful violations involve failing to protect workers from falls from heights up to 14 feet while performing residential construction. The repeat citation was issued for allowing workers to use pneumatic nail guns without eye protection. The serious violations were cited for failing to ensure an extension ladder extended 3 feet above the landing surface and allowing employees to stand on the top step of a stepladder while installing roof trusses.

Since 2011, Transformers has been inspected six times for safety hazards. OSHA has proposed the employer be placed in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. Under the program, OSHA may inspect any of the employer's facilities or job sites.

Proposed penalties: $153,090

Quote: "Following our seventh inspection in three years, Ms. Richardson dissolved Transformers Construction and registered two new companies, Buildtronix LLC and Innobuilders LLC, but continues not to follow OSHA regulations," said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA's area director in Jacksonville. "This practice doesn't change the employer's obligation to ensure all employees return home at the end of their work day."

The citations can be viewed at:

• http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/Transformersconstructionservices_1027972.pdf
• http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/BuildtronixLLC_1055972_06262015.pdf

The employer 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, losses of an eye, 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.