New York Roofing Contractor Ordered to Present Fall Safety for Employees

The U.S. Division of Labor has obtained a consent injunction ordering a Rockland County roofing contractor and its principal to offer workers with fall safety gear and ensure it’s used in any respect firm worksites, as required by federal legislation.

The order finds that the corporate is exposing its employees to imminent hazard of loss of life or critical hurt by permitting workers to do roofing work with out fall safety.

Since 2019, the division’s Occupational Security and Well being Administration (OSHA) has cited ALJ Residence Enchancment Inc. a number of instances for fall-related violations, together with after firm workers suffered deadly falls in 2019 and 2022. In Could 2023, ALJ and its proprietor Jose Lema signed a settlement agreement with OSHA to resolve willful citations the company issued in 2021. The settlement contains enhanced provisions for correcting and stopping fall hazards.

Entered within the U.S. District Courtroom for the Southern District of New York this week, the injunction requires ALJ and Lema to adjust to the improved abatement provisions of the settlement settlement, together with notifying OSHA of future firm job websites, offering all supervisors with OSHA 30-hour security coaching and all workers with OSHA 10-hour security coaching, and retaining a certified security guide to develop security, well being and disciplinary applications and conduct worksite inspections.

If ALJ or Lema fail to adjust to the settlement, the division stated it might file a contempt movement in federal court docket.

“Falls stay the primary reason behind loss of life in development work, accounting for 351 out of 1,008 development fatalities in 2020. Lowering that lethal statistic is made tougher by cussed employers who knowingly and repeatedly fail to adjust to frequent sense and legally required safeguards,” stated OSHA Regional Administrator Richard Mendelson in New York.

“These settlement phrases present additional assurance of compliance, enforceable by way of contempt in district court docket, given this employer’s historical past, and underscore the Division of Labor’s dedication to pursuing efficient and acceptable authorized actions to assist make sure that employers right violations and take substantive steps to forestall them from recurring,” stated Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff in New York.

In a separate authorized motion, the U.S. Lawyer for the Southern District of New York filed legal fees in opposition to proprietor Jose Lema in July 2023 arising from the 2022 employee fatality.

OSHA’s space workplace in Tarrytown carried out the unique inspections.

Supply: U.S. Division of Labor

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