Ohio Roofing Contractor Faces $548K in Fines for Exposing Employees to Lethal Fall Hazards

On 4 events in lower than three months in 2023, U.S. Division of Labor inspectors noticed a Millersburg, Ohio roofing contractor once more exposing employees to lethal fall hazards of as much as 19 toes at 4 residential roofing job websites in Canton, Uniontown and Westlake, regardless of having fall safety gear obtainable on web site.

Following its March, April and June investigations, the division’s Occupational Security and Well being Administration proposed $548,801 in penalties to JMH Roofing LLC, after figuring out eight willful and two repeat violations. Jonas Hershberger operates JMH Roofing LLC and RAM Roofing LLC. The present citations proceed Hershberger’s historical past of disregard for office security laws with quite a few citations to those two firms since 2018.

“Jonas Hershberger continues his harmful sample of ignoring federal security requirements and exposing his employees to probably severe and deadly accidents,” defined OSHA Space Director Howard Eberts in Cleveland. “JMH Roofing owns fall safety gear and offers it to its employees, however refuses to require them to make use of it or cooperate with federal inspectors, who repeatedly inform Hershberger of his obligation to guard his firm’s employees on the job.”

OSHA carried out the inspections in 2023 on March 9 and 28 in Uniontown, on April 19 at two websites in Canton, and on June 1 in Westlake.

In any respect worksites, inspectors noticed roofing employees at heights larger than 6 toes with out fall safety and missing eye safety whereas utilizing pneumatic nail weapons. The corporate additionally allowed employees to work with out correctly prolonged ladders.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics studies that 1,015 building employees died on the job in 2021, with 379 of these fatalities associated to falls from elevation. Publicity to fall hazards makes residential building work among the many most harmful jobs in building.

The corporate has 15 enterprise days from receipt of its citations and penalties to conform, request a casual convention with OSHA’s space director, or contest the findings earlier than the impartial Occupational Security and Well being Assessment Fee.

Supply: OSHA

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