Repeatedly working from heights without necessary protection, failing to shore up a trench and rushing through work when a structure appeared unstable.
Those were among some of the OSHA violations in the third quarter of 2024 that resulted in particularly eye-catching initial fines.
OSHA publicizes instances in which it issues large fines, as a means of showing its regulatory power and calling attention to violations. In the third quarter of this year, the agency highlighted several employers facing hefty penalties across multiple jobsites and inspections.
In construction, these cases often involve residential builders committing repeat violations, which carry a larger initial penalty. The original fine amounts are sometimes negotiated down in settlement, so they do not always represent the amount paid.
U.S. Tank Painting Inc.
Initial fines: $485,580
Status: Contested
A New Jersey water tower painting contractor faces three willful and 19 serious violations after OSHA found it failed to provide or install safety equipment that could have prevented an employee from falling 80 feet and suffering severe injuries in January.
Inspectors from OSHA say U.S. Tank Painting Inc. had workers sandblast and paint the interior and exterior of a Bayville, New Jersey, water tower and replace a ladder attached to the structure.
The agency claimed the company failed to ensure that workers used proper fall protection, as well as exposed workers to a slew of other harmful hazards, such as high noise levels with no protection and lack of training and protection from silica hazards.
As a result, the contractor faces $485,580 in proposed penalties, levied in July. The company is contesting the fines.
In response to request for comment, a U.S. Tank spokesperson told Construction Dive, “It is a pending matter and we can’t comment publicly, other than to state that we prioritize safety at our company and we have a lengthy track record of quality work.”
Boston Waterproofing & Construction Corp.
Initial fines: $451,694 total
Status: Issued
A Boston waterproofing contractor allegedly exposed workers to life-threatening excavation hazards on two residential worksites — one in Arlington, Massachusetts, and one in Warwick, Rhode Island, federal OSHA investigators found, according to a July release.
In both instances, a supervisor for Boston Waterproofing & Construction Corp. recruited, then ordered untrained day laborers to enter and work in unprotected excavations, despite safety concerns raised by employees, the agency said. The employer also allegedly did not provide cave-in protection.
Both the excavations collapsed, with each cave-in injuring and burying a worker, OSHA claimed.
The agency said the employer made no attempt to rescue the trapped employee at the Arlington jobsite on Sept. 10, 2023, instead taking away the employee’s phone and even striking “the trapped employee with objects to prevent the employee from seeking medical attention.”
At the Warwick site on Dec. 2, 2023, the trapped employee asked for the employer to call 911 and for transport to the hospital, but the employer objected, OSHA claimed, instead carrying the injured worker to a personal vehicle, where they then dropped the employee off at an urgent care facility.
In April, OSHA cited the contractor with four serious and one willful citation for each occasion, resulting in two initial fines of $225,847.
Boston Waterproofing & Construction did not respond to requests for comment.
Sound Construction Inc.
Initial fines: $394,083
Status: Contested
An Easton, Connecticut, contractor could have prevented a worker death in a December trench collapse, OSHA said in a July release.
Investigators say they determined that Sound Construction Inc. exposed five employees to cave-ins, engulfment or struck-by hazards on a New Canaan, Connecticut, jobsite. OSHA claimed the company failed to:
- Provide cave-in protection for the 12-foot-deep trench.
- Train employees on how to recognize and avoid trenching hazards.
- Ensure an excavator was kept further than 2 feet from the trench’s edge.
- Ensure the location of underground utilities prior to excavation.
On Dec. 22, 2023, an unprotected trench wall struck an employee and partially buried them more than 12 feet deep. He died as a result.
OSHA cited Sound Construction in June with five serious and two willful violations, with $394,083 in total initial fines. The firm is contesting the fines. OSHA also cited the company in 2016 for three serious violations related to trench safety at a Trumbull, Connecticut, jobsite.
Sound Construction did not respond to Construction Dive’s request for comment.
KW Framing Inc.
Initial fines: $317,644 across multiple citations
Status: Issued
A Chicago-area framing contractor faces $317,644 in initial violations across two different citations issued in July from instances in January and May.
OSHA claimed inspectors observed employees of KW Framing Inc. working at heights up to 30 feet without fall protection on Jan. 29 at a residential jobsite in River Grove, Illinois. Workers did not have required equipment while they erected exterior walls on structures two to three stories high, the agency said.
Inspectors returned to the site on Feb. 9 and Feb. 12, again finding workers exposed to similar fall hazards, per an OSHA release. The agency said Wojciech Knapczyk, a management official at the company, dismissed inspector concerns.
KW Framing faces $184,552 in initial violations from three serious and one willful, one repeat and one other-than-serious violation from the inspections.
On May 7, OSHA visited another KW Framing jobsite in the same development, allegedly discovering employees sheathing a roof more than 30 feet high without fall protection or proper eye protection. For that inspection the firm faces $133,092 in initial penalties for one serious, one willful and one other-than-serious violation.
Additionally, OSHA said the company has not responded to $117,843 in citations issued in 2022, causing the agency to seek debt collection.
The company has no publicly available contact information and could not be reached for comment.
Dromin Development LLC
Initial fines: $268,309
Status: Issued
For what OSHA said is the seventh time since 2013, the agency has cited a Chicago-area framing contractor for lack of required safety equipment and training.
Inspectors in March observed employees of Dromin Development working on a Frankfort, Illinois, jobsite at heights greater than 6 feet without fall protection. It also failed to provide appropriate safety training and ensure workers wore hard hats and used ladders properly, the agency said.
As a result, OSHA proposed $268,309 in initial fines in August across one serious, one willful and three repeat violations. OSHA also claimed the company owes $114,000 in unpaid penalties for similar violations.
The company has no publicly available contact information and could not be reached for comment.
CMD Endeavors Inc.
Initial fines: $260,848
Status: Informal settlement
In August, OSHA cited an El Paso, Texas-based sewer and water contractor for allegedly failing to ensure a trench had the proper protection in February, resulting in the death of a 37-year-old employee, when the excavation caved in.
CMD Endeavors Inc. faces one willful, one serious and two repeat violations for repeated failures to provide adequate systems to prevent trench cave-ins, stop nearby materials from falling in the trench, ensure a proper trench exit and support adjacent pavement, OSHA said.
The company faced $260,848 in initial penalties issued Aug. 1, but, according to OSHA’s establishment search, CMD Endeavors reached an informal settlement of $180,000.
CMD Endeavors did not respond to Construction Dive’s request for comment.
Big D Builders
Initial fines: $198,586
Status: Contested
As a result of an under-construction airplane hangar that collapsed on Jan. 31, killing three and injuring nine, a contractor faces $198,586 in initial penalties.
Big D Builders of Meridian, Idaho, allegedly used insufficient bracing and tensioned guy wires while ignoring numerous indications that the structure was unstable, including visibly curved structural I-beams, OSHA said.
The contractor also failed to train workers to properly construct the steel spans and allowed cranes and other equipment to operate in mud and standing water, exposing workers to risks of equipment overturning, OSHA found.
As a result, Big D Builders faces one willful and three serious violations issued in July, which it is contesting. Big D Builders did not respond to a request for comment at the time the fines were issued.
Carpenter Contractors of America Inc.
Initial fines: $161,323
Status: Contested
For the second time in five years, OSHA has found a Florida framing contractor allowed employees to work on a roof without adequate protection, exposing workers to deadly falls.
In January, OSHA inspectors observed employees of Carpenter Contractors of America on a residential jobsite working at heights of up to 32 feet with no fall protection. The firm faces one willful citation issued in July with $161,323 in initial penalties. It is contesting the fines.
In January 2020, Carpenter Contractors of America faced $30,630 in initial penalties for two other-than-serious violations, including a lack of fall protection. An administrative law judge decision reduced the total fine to $14,000, according to OSHA’s establishment search database.
Carpenter Contractors of America did not respond to Construction Dive’s request for comment.
GL Construction
Initial fines: $144,505
Status: Contested
A Sun Prairie, Wisconsin-based framing contractor faces $144,505 in proposed penalties after OSHA investigators allegedly found it again exposed workers to falls without protection.
On a residential construction site, officers observed six employees of GL Construction of Madison working at heights of up to 12 feet without PPE, the agency said. As a result, the company faces one willful, two repeat and five serious violations, issued in August.
OSHA claimed it has found employees exposed to falls and other hazards in each of the last four years. In October 2023, four months prior to the latest investigation, OSHA said it found employees exposed to fall hazards and cited the company for one repeat and two serious violations.
In April 2022, an employee of GL Construction died when a 1,000-pound wall tipped over as a work crew tried to use a crane to lift the structure in high winds. As a result, OSHA cited the company for nine serious and two other-than-serious violations.
To date, the agency said GL Construction has not paid federal penalties, provided abatement or complied with terms of a settlement between OSHA and the company.
GL Construction is contesting the fines. The company has no publicly available contact information and could not be reached for comment.