What's New in the
World of Job Safety?
Reprinted from July 2006 ohioconstructionlaw.com
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can seriously affect any Contractor or construction project. Compliance with OSHA regulations can be time-consuming and tedious, but it is essential to maintain a viable position in the construction industry. This month, as always, we report on recent developments in the world of OSHA.
Alleged Trenching Violations Leave
Ohio Contractor Facing $251,250 in Fines
“Information” gets to OSHA any number of ways, and when that information proves true, it may lead to inspections, citations, and fines—sometimes large ones. That is what happened in December 2005, when OSHA received “information” regarding possible safety violations at a worksite in the City of Fremont on a water main improvement project. The contractor, Speer Bros., Inc., allegedly allowed employees to work in unprotected trenches that were as deep as 13 feet in some locations.
Inspectors discovered multiple violations at the Fremont site, including “failure to provide access and egress from deep trenches, failing to protect workers from cave-ins while inside those trenches, failing to protect against water accumulation inside the trenches and failing to remove employees from hazardous areas after having been advised of hazardous conditions that could result in cave-ins.”
The OSHA news release noted Speer Bros.’ history of OSHA violations, some of which include trenching violations dating back to 1992. Some of the previous violations were categorized as willful. Such a history undoubtedly influenced the size of the proposed fine this time: $251,250.
Trench work is difficult and dangerous. Even a trench that is five feet deep has the potential to injure or kill an employee.
The eTools located on OSHA’s website include one that
covers trenching and excavation safety.
Willful OSHA Violations Contribute
To 30-Month Sentence for Contractor
Thirty months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. That prospect is now a certainty for a New York contractor who pled guilty to mail fraud and the willful violation of OSHA regulations recently. The prison sentence was above the advisory range of 12 to 18 months.
The contractor, Kang Yeon Lee, owned a construction company that had several different names—Big Apple Construction Management, Big Apple Construction and Restoration, and Big Apple Development and Construction—over a period of two and a half years.
One of Lee’s projects was the construction of a condominium structure in Brooklyn. While four employees were pouring concrete for a third-story balcony, the balcony collapsed. Three of the employees fell to the ground, and one of them died as a result of the fall. The employer took no adequate fall protection measures.
Lee’s failure to provide adequate fall protection to his employees resulted in a willful violation of OSHA regulations. Lee’s companies previously received “between 10 and 20” OSHA violations as a result of several inspections at different construction sites.
But that was not all. Lee told his employees to prepare and sign certified payrolls that overstated the wages paid to his employees. Although he failed to pay prevailing wage, his payrolls disguised that fact. He also failed to contribute money to the trust funds maintained by his employees.
The presiding judge noted that he did not “see a lot of redeeming qualities” in Lee. The judge said he was bothered by the fact that “a Korean gentleman” would hire Korean workers and victimize them both economically and physically (perhaps by not complying with OSHA regulations). He found that type of “insensitivity” troubling.
In addition to the prison sentence, the contractor was also required to pay $1 million in restitution to the victims of the balcony collapse, OSHA fines totaling $157,940, outstanding overtime wages totaling $55,193.80, and $750,000 for Employee Retirement Income Security Act violations that resulted from his failure to contribute “on behalf of his laborers to the Trust Funds of the Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York and Long Island, as required by a collective bargaining agreement.” Lee is scheduled to begin serving his sentence on September 5, 2006.
OSHA Unveils New Concrete Industry
Safety and Health Topics Page
Where can you find a website dedicated to the safety and health issues involved in the production of concrete and concrete products?
At OSHA’s website, of course. The new Safety and Health Topics Page
covers concrete products from the manufacturing stage all the way through their use in the construction industry.
This resource provides the standards that apply to the use of concrete in the construction industry,
ways to control the hazards that are present in the industry, and information for use in developing a safety program to protect employees from the hazards.
