OSHA investigation reveals Paterson construction company exposed employees to electrical, fall, safety hazards during rehab work at Belleville site

Employer name: Cityview Construction Corp.
302 Main St.
Paterson, New Jersey

Inspection site: 520 Belleville Ave.
Belleville, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Aug. 19, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company one willful violation, one other-than-serious violation and 14 serious violations.

Investigation findings: OSHA’s inspection began on Feb. 22, 2016, after it received a complaint alleging that workers converting a multi-story commercial building to multi-dwelling residential units did not have fall protection equipment.

Inspectors found employees on the third floor exposed to fall hazards up to approximately 10 feet to a concrete floor below, resulting in the willful citation. They also cited serious violations for allowing unguarded machinery and other electrical, fall and scaffolding hazards. The other-than-serious citation was due to recordkeeping violations.

Quote: “Falls remain the leading cause of death for construction workers, which makes Cityview Construction’s failure to protect its employees hard to believe,” said Kris Hoffman, director at OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “Proper safeguards in this case are truly a matter of life and death. This employer jeopardized the safety of its workers by violating basic OSHA standards. We cannot tolerate such actions and encourage the community to contact OSHA when they believe workers are being put at risk.”

Proposed penalties: $193,053

The citation can be viewed at: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/CityviewConstructionCo_081916.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, 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 Parsippany Area Office at 973-263-1003.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.