Roofer Cited, Charged With Felony for Disrupting Investigation ($224,000)

[Omaha Steve]

http://safety.blr.com/display.cfm/id/109077

05/01/2008

OSHA has issued a roofer from Carbon Cliff, Illinois, with eight citations for alleged safety and health violations following its investigation into the death of an employee.

Proposed penalties total $224,000. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of Illinois also charged the superintendent for allegedly obstructing OSHA's investigation of the accident. Obstruction of an agency proceeding is a felony offense.

On October 10, 2007, an employee was killed when he fell 16 feet through a skylight. OSHA issued willful citations to the roofing business for its failure to provide fall protection, cover skylight openings as required, and train employees about fall hazards.

Seven of the eight willfuls allege per-instance violations, defined as one committed with intentional disregard or plain indifference to OSHA regulations.

The employer had been inspected by OSHA in 2002. That led to issuance of a serious citation for fall protection problems.