U.S. Department of Labor Fines Florida Roofing Contractor For Repeatedly Exposing Employees to Fall Hazards

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited CJM Roofing Inc. – based in West Palm, Florida – for exposing employees to fall and other hazards at three residential worksites in Royal Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie, Florida. The contractor faces penalties totaling $291,724.

OSHA initiated inspections in June, August and September of 2019, as part of the Regional Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction, after inspectors observed employees working on roofs without fall protection. OSHA cited the company for failing to use a fall protection system, ensure that portable ladders extend above the upper landing, require that employees wear eye and face protection when operating pneumatic nail guns, and conduct regular inspections of the jobsite. OSHA has inspected the company five times in the past five years, resulting in repeat violations of the fall protection standard.

“Companies that fail to comply with safety and health requirements are placing workers at risk for injuries and illnesses,” said OSHA Fort Lauderdale Area Director Condell Eastmond. “This employer must take immediate action by conducting required hazard assessments and correcting dangerous working conditions.”

“OSHA’s educational resources are readily available to all employers and workers to understand how to provide a safe work environment and ensure compliance with the law,” stated Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Loren Sweatt.  

Information on how to identify workplace hazards and implement safety and health programs is available on OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs webpage.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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 help 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 https://www.osha.gov.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.