Bergen County framing contractor faces $222K in fines after failing to provide proper protection, exposing employees to 20-foot falls at work site

Employer name: Frame Q LLC
315 7th St.
Fairview, New Jersey

Inspection site: 119 Abbott Ave.
Palisades Park, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Sept. 28, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Frame Q LLC for two repeat safety violations.

Investigation findings:  OSHA’s inspection began on April 23, 2016, after an OSHA compliance officer observed Frame Q employees performing residential construction framing activities without fall protection. The inspection was also part of the agency’s Local Emphasis Program on Falls.

The violations involved the company’s failure to provide workers with fall and eye protection. OSHA cited the framing contractor for the same hazards in March 2014 at a work site in nearby Englewood Cliffs.

Quote: “Frame Q continues to jeopardize the safety of its employees by not providing basic safety equipment that saves lives,” said Lisa Levy, director of OSHA’s Hasbrouck Heights Area Office. “Falls are the number one killer of workers in the construction industry.  By not complying with OSHA safety standards, this company is not upholding its legal responsibility to provide employees with a safe workplace, which is unacceptable.”

Proposed penalties: $222,697

The citations can be viewed at: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/FrameQLLC_1149505.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 Hasbrouck Heights Area Office at 201-288-1700.

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.