News Release
Federal safety inspectors find Palatine roofing contractor continued to expose employees to deadly fall hazards; cite 6th violation since 2019
PALATINE, IL – Twice within a month in summer 2023, federal workplace safety inspectors found a Palatine contractor did not provide roofing employees with required fall protection, exposing them to the risk of falls from elevation, the construction industry’s leading cause of workplace deaths.
These workplace safety violations by Ricardo Gallardo - operating as R&R Construction Services Inc. - are the fifth and sixth times since 2019 that inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration discovered the company violating federal regulations for protecting workers from falls.
On June 15, 2023, OSHA inspectors opened an investigation after they observed eight roofers working without fall protection at heights over 6 feet at a residential home work site in Palos Heights. On July 18, 2023, inspectors observed crews — again without required protection — working atop a residential roof in Joliet.
“R&R Construction Services Inc. continued to show a flagrant disregard for industry-recognized fall safety requirements that protect workers from the leading cause of worker fatalities in the construction industry,” said OSHA Chicago South Area Director James Martineck in Tinley Park, Illinois. “They need to comply with federal laws that protect workers before tragedy strikes its employees.”
OSHA inspectors also learned the company did not train employees on the use of fall protection and noted the company’s failure to provide workers using pneumatic hammers with required eye protection.
After its June and July inspections, OSHA cited the company for one willful violation and four repeat violations and assessed $275,869 in penalties.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 1,015 construction workers died on the job in 2021, with 379 of them related to falls from elevation. Exposure to fall hazards makes residential construction work among the most dangerous jobs in construction.
OSHA’s stop falls website offers safety information and video presentations in English and Spanish to teach workers about fall hazards and proper safety procedures.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and 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.
