Washington Roofer Faces More Than $300K In Safety Fines For Putting Workers At Risk

Snohomish, WA(WorkersCompensation.com)-As a new decade begins, a roofing company in Snohomish finds itself in hot water. Allways Roofing faces hefty fines from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) for multiple worker safety hazards at three different job sites.

Lat month, L&I received quite a few calls from neighbors that were concerned and decided to open inspections in connection with work that was being performed at three homes in Arlington and Woodinville.

The Citation and Notice of Assessments for the properties in Arlington obtained by WorkersCompensation.com show Allways Roofing was cited for the following Willful  and Serious violations: 

• Failing to ensure the appropriate fall protection system was provided, installed, and implemented when employees are exposed to fall hazards of 4 feet or more while working on a roof with a steep pitch. In one instance six employees were working on a re-roofing project from a height of approximately 10 feet without an appropriately implemented fall protection system. In another job site three employees were working on a reroofing project from a height of approximately 15 feet without an appropriately implemented fall protection system. 
• Not developing or implementing a written fall protection work plan including each area of the workplace where the employees were assigned and where fall hazards of 10 feet or more existed. During the inspection six employees were seen replacing a roof on a residential home with a steep pitch roof without a plan. 
•  Exposing six employees to a fall hazard by not having a safe means to mount and dismount a ladder when ascending and descending. 
• Failing to safeguard employees by performing initial and weekly walk-around safety inspections, conducting them jointly with one member of management and one employee, elected by the employees, as their authorized representative. 
• Failing to ensure workers were protected from hazards of falling, flying, abrasive, and splashing objects, or exposure to harmful dusts, fumes, mists, vapors, or gases through particular personal protective equipment. During the inspection that took place one employee was seen using a pneumatic nail gun without wearing personal protective equipment.

Following an inspection done at a jobsite in Woodinville, the company was cited for the following additional violations: 

• Failing to ensure roofers were using appropriate fall protection while roofing a house in Woodinville, Wash.
• Failing to have a fall protection work plan.
• Failing to ensure that employees had a proper ladder. Six workers who used a 24-foot Werner extension ladder to ascend and descend to and from a steep pitched roof, had the ladder extended to three feet above the exiting surface onto to steeply pitched roof.
• Failing to make sure that a length of rope attached to a roofing bracket was forbidden from being used as a means of assistance to get up and down a steeply pitched roof. Roof brackets may not be used in this manner. Six employees were observed during the inspection using the rope. One descending worker was observed slipping and lunging to the rope to break his fall. Up to two employees were observed using it simultaneously to assist in their descent.
• Failing to safeguard roofers with eye protection while either operating a pneumatic nail gun or being in close proximity of one or more guns being used.
•  Failing to provide required  personal protective equipment, such as gloves, fall protection, or eye protection to the employees at no cost.

“Falls from roofs, ladders and other elevated worksites are the leading cause of preventable workplace fatalities and immediate hospitalizations in our state,” said Anne Soiza, assistant director in charge of L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, in a press release. “This company has repeatedly exposed its workers to harm and ignored the minimum rules known to prevent fatalities. We hope this level of accountability will motivate permanent safety improvements in their operations.”

L&I had cited Allways Roofing seven times since 2012. Included were 11 repeat-serious violations and eight serious violations for hazardous conditions on job sites. For all of the violations, Allways was fined $112,000.

Because the company is a repeat offender, it is now in the Severe Violator Program. It means the company is now subject to more inspections until it can demonstrate to the agency that it can follow the rules set in place and keep its employees safe going forward.

Allways Roofing has 15 days to appeal. Penalty money paid as a result of a citation is placed in the workers' compensation supplemental pension fund, helping injured workers and families of those who have died on the job.

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