Three commercial real estate renovators willfully expose workers to asbestos in San Antonio; fines total $112,000

Employers' names: Ramco Erectors Inc. and Isabel Facundo Garcia

Citations issued: Nov. 23, 2015

Investigation findings: A Garcia worker, being supervised by Ramco, fell 13 feet and died July 14 from his injuries sustained at a Conroe, Texas, archery and gun range construction site. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Ramco for one willful violation for failing to protect workers with a fall protection system. Garcia was cited for one serious violation for failing to protect workers from fall hazards. As part of a nationwide outreach campaign, OSHA is working to raise awareness among workers and employers about the hazards of falls from ladders, scaffolds and roofs.

Proposed Penalties: Ramco Erectors Inc. fined $69,300 and Isabel Facundo Garcia fined $7,000.

Quote: "Falls are preventable. Ramco failed to comply with commonsense safety practices, and that cost a worker his life. Such negligence will not be tolerated," said Joann Figueroa, OSHA's area director in the Houston North office. "It is the employer's responsibility to find and fix hazards in the workplace."

Link to the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/RamcoErectorsInc_1078155.pdf and http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/IsabelFacundoGarcia_1078167.pdf.

Information: Ramco Erectors Inc. employs about 200 workers and Garcia employs about four workers. Both companies are headquartered in Houston, Texas. The companies have 15 business days from receipt of their citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties 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 Houston North Area Office at 936-760-3800. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.