OSHA cites Latite Roofing for repeatedly exposing workers to fall hazards

Employer name: Latite Roofing and Sheet Metal LLC

Inspection sites: 9617 NW 7th Circle, Building #3; 9741 NW 7th Circle, Building #5; and 9710 SW 7th Circle, Building #10, Plantation, Florida 33324.

Citations issued: Citations were issued to the employer on Dec. 29.

Investigation findings: Inspectors with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated three separate inspections after observing employees performing roofing work without fall protection. OSHA issued three repeated citations to the employer for allowing employees to work from heights up to 27 feet without fall protection. Latite was previously cited for similar violations in 2013 at a worksite in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Proposed penalties: $115,500

Quote: "Latite has been cited numerous times by OSHA in the past five years for exposing workers to fall hazards, yet we are still finding these violations at their work sites," said Condell Eastmond, OSHA's area director in Fort Lauderdale. "Employers have a legal obligation to provide any necessary equipment, such as a fall protection, to ensure their workers can perform their duties safely."

The citations can be viewed at: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/LatiteRoofingandSheetMetal_12_18_2015.pdf

The company has been cited nine times in the past five years. However, OSHA found that Latite is again exposing employees to the hazards of fall protection. A lack of adequate fall protection when working from elevations can result in serious or fatal injuries.

Latite is the largest commercial and residential roofing company in south Florida. 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, 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 Fort Lauderdale Area Office at 954-424-0242.