Premier Roofing, sub-contractor defied OSHA fall hazard warnings twice in three days; exposed roofers to three-story falls

Employer name: Premier Roofing Company LLC and Walter Construction LTD

Worksite: Multi-family housing re-roofing project in Denver

Citations issued: April 18, 2016

Investigation findings:  Two times in three days, U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors witnessed Premier Roofing Company LLC and its sub-contractor Walter Construction LTD exposing workers to falls. On Dec. 21, 2015, OSHA responded after receiving a complaint about employees in danger of falling as they installed shingles on a three-story, multi-family building. On Dec. 23, 2015, investigators returned to the site and found employees still exposed to the same hazards.      

As a result, OSHA cited Premier Roofing – the controlling employer – for two repeat violations for exposing workers to fall hazards repeatedly and five serious violations for not protecting workers from head and eye hazards; and raising workers on a platform without rails atop a forklift to the roof. Walter Construction was cited for seven serious violations for also for not protecting workers from head and eye hazards, the same forklift hazards, not training employees on the hazards associated with scaffolds; the recognition and avoidance of fall hazards; and using an extension ladder that did not extend at least three feet above the landing.

Proposed Penalties:  OSHA has fined Premier Roofing Company LLC $90,860 and Walter Construction LTD $16,800.

Quote: “Even after being told by OSHA inspectors of the dangers, two employers at the same worksite ignored the warnings and exposed workers to obvious safety hazards twice in three days,” said David Nelson, OSHA’s Area Director in Englewood, Colorado. “Blatant disregard for worker safety can lead to disaster. Violating the law will not be tolerated.”                                                                                                                                           

Links to the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/PremierandWalters.pdf

Information: Headquartered in Denver, Premier Roofing also has offices in Colorado Springs and Fort Collins, Colorado; Kansas City, Kansas; and Chicago. It services the majority of Colorado, southern Wyoming, eastern Kansas, western Missouri and northern Illinois. Walter Construction specializes in roofing in the Denver area. 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 Englewood Area Office at 303-843-4500. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.