9 of the biggest OSHA fines of Q1 2023 | Dump Trucks Charlotte NC

As part of its attempt to raise awareness on safety standards and punish those who violate them, OSHA often names and publicizes cases that include high fine amounts.

In many instances, these citations include small residential builders with a history of repeatedly failing to provide adequate protection for workers. Fine amounts are often negotiated down when businesses contest them.

Here are some of the top fines highlighted by OSHA in the first quarter of 2023:

ALJ Home Improvement Inc.
Fines: $687,536
Status: Contested

A Nanuet, New York-based roofing contractor faces nearly $700,000 in fines for lack of fall and head protection violations. Three employees of ALJ Home Improvement Inc. allegedly worked on an 18-foot-high roof without the required protection, according to OSHA. The contractor was hired to remove an existing roof and reinstall shingles on a residential project.

Two ALJ workers died on previous projects — one in 2019 and a second in 2022 — OSHA reported. The second fatality resulted in a $1.3 million fine. As part of its local emphasis program around fall protection, OSHA inspectors viewed the unprotected workers on a Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, jobsite in August — six months after the second fatality.

For the latest infraction, the contractor faces four willful and four serious violations. ALJ is contesting the fines.

Construction Dive contacted a number listed on ALJ Home Improvement’s website with request for comment. The person who answered claimed it was a wrong number.

Guelsin Lima (Extreme Roofing and Siding LLC)
Fines: $584,333
Status: Issued

Trenton, New Jersey-based contractor Guelsin Lima faces 12 citations — nine willful and three serious — and half a million dollars in proposed penalties for allegedly exposing workers to fall hazards, improper ladder use and failure to provide head and eye protection, OSHA announced Jan. 12.

As part of a local emphasis program on falls, OSHA opened an investigation into Guelsin Lima, operating as Extreme Roofing and Siding LLC, on an Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, worksite in July. During the inspection, OSHA allegedly observed four workers exposed to a 30-foot drop without fall protection. Guelsin Lima was employed as a roofing subcontractor on a Toll Brothers Inc. residential project. The agency announced the fines Jan. 12. 

Guelsin Lima has had similar fines recently, contributing to the high dollar amount of the fine. In September, OSHA fined the contractor over $118,000 for lack of fall protection.

The columbus oh dump truck company has no public website or publicly available phone number, so it could not be reached for comment by Construction Dive.

Bowers Excavating LLC
Fines: $505,333
Status: Issued

A Mandan, North Dakota, columbus oh dump truck company is facing fines over half a million dollars after it allegedly failed to provide proper protection to workers in trenches, OSHA reported. The agency opened three inspections within 32 days in September and October — two in Bismarck, North Dakota, and one in Mandan. The inspections resulted in three willful, four repeat and one serious violation.

Twice in 2022, OSHA alleges, the owner of Bowers Excavating piloted an excavator, supervising employees below while they installed municipal water lines as deep as 10 feet without protection. The agency found Bowers failed to use adequate protection or safe means of entering and exiting the trenches, did not keep soil piles far enough from the trenches and failed to protect workers from hazards resulting from water accumulating.

In July, OSHA launched a national emphasis program on trenches following 39 trench-related deaths in 2022. 

Bowers Excavating has no public website or publicly available phone number, so it could not be reached for comment by Construction Dive.

Domingos 54 Construction Inc.
Fines: $464,079
Status: Issued

On Sept. 24, an OSHA inspector reportedly observed employees of Ocala, Florida-based Domingos 54 Construction Inc. working on a 15-foot-high residential roof without fall safety gear, according to the agency. In addition, OSHA said the columbus oh dump truck company had failed to train employees to ensure they had a clear understanding of methods to control fall hazards, and found employees continuing to columbus oh dump truck company without required eye protection.

The agency said it completed 11 inspections of Domingos 54 Construction jobsites since February 2019, identifying four willful, eight repeat, 19 serious and four other-than serious violations, many due to lack of fall protection. In March 2020, a 53-year-old employee suffered a 10-foot fatal fall from the roof of a Tampa residence on a Domingos 54 Construction project. 

As a result of the most recent inspection in September, Domingos 54 Construction faces three willful and one repeat violation, totaling $464,079.

The contractor has no public website or publicly available phone number, so it could not be reached for comment by Construction Dive.