OSHA Cites Florida Construction Company for Exposing Workers to Fall Hazards

Jacksonville, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Best Florida Construction Inc. of Tampa with three repeat violations for exposing workers to fall hazards while they were conducting framing work at a new apartment complex on Baymeadows Road East in Jacksonville. OSHA initiated an inspection in February as part of the agency's Local Emphasis Program Program on Falls in Construction.

The violations involve failing to provide fall protection for employees installing floor sheathing, train workers to recognize fall hazards, and provide eye and face protection for employees using nail guns. Proposed penalties for the citations total $46,200. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. Similar violations were cited at a Tampa work site in November 2011.

"Falls continue to be a leading cause of workplace fatalities in the construction industry," said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA's area director in Jacksonville. "Employers have a responsibility to ensure that workers have proper safety protection, and work environments are healthful and safe."

In April, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a campaign to provide employers and workers with lifesaving information and educational materials about working safely from ladders, scaffolds and roofs in an effort to prevent deadly falls in the construction industry. In 2010, more than 10,000 construction workers were injured as a result of falling while working from heights, and more than 250 workers were killed. OSHA's fall prevention campaign was developed in partnership with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH's National Occupational Research Agenda program. More detailed information on fall-protection standards is available in English and Spanish at http://www.osha.gov/stopfalls.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Jacksonville Area Office at 904-232-2895.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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