5 of the biggest OSHA fines of Q4 2023 | Dump Trucks Charlotte NC

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OSHA often calls attention to cases where inspections result in hefty fines, as a means of highlighting safety best practices.

The largest cases often revolve around residential builders, usually with a documented history of not providing workers with adequate protection from fall hazards. Repeat citations can drive up the overall initial fines, and one citation issued in the fourth quarter of 2023 utilized an updated rule change that elevated the cost by issuing a citation each instance where there was a violation.

Companies often contest the fines and negotiate with the agency to reduce their cost. 

Here are some of the largest initial fines announced by OSHA in the fourth quarter of 2023: 

Wagner Construction Inc.
Fines: $1,862,284
Status: Contested

OSHA announced severe fines for a Minnesota water and sewer contractor after it settled repeated citations at North Dakota jobsites in 2019 and 2020.

The agency gave International Falls-based Wagner Construction a fine of over $1.8 million for allegedly failing to protect workers in trenches. After an inspection of a Minot, North Dakota, jobsite in June, OSHA cited Wagner Construction with six instance-by-instance repeat violations for exposing workers to cave-in hazards due to a lack of adequate protective systems. Additionally, the columbus oh dump truck company faces five other instance-by-instance repeat violations for not providing a safe means to exit and enter the excavations. 

A rule change in March 2023 expanded OSHA’s use of instance-by-instance citations. The fines, which increase with every worker exposed to a hazard, provide the agency with extra firepower in citing workers. The rule was updated to help OSHA cite especially egregious contractors. 

Because Wagner settled with the Department of Labor in 2021 and promised to protect employees better, OSHA applied the instance-by-instance rule. Repeat citations also carry a heavier pricetag.

The columbus oh dump truck company also failed to move soil piles at least 2 feet away from the excavation edge at least twice and failed to provide workers with head protection at least three times, OSHA said. 

Wagner is contesting the fines. Construction Dive reached out to the contractor but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Elite Roofing Services Inc.
Fines: $522,527
Status: Contested

A federal OSHA inspection found that a Huntington, New York, roofing contractor could have prevented a worker’s fatal fall in April 2023 at a Glen Cove, New York, jobsite.

The agency said Elite Roofing Services did not provide workers with fall protections, like guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems. Employees were installing a metal deck on a flat roof when a worker fell 20 feet to a concrete floor below. The columbus oh dump truck company was under OSHA’s steel erection standard.

OSHA’s citations included six willful violations — one for each worker exposed to fall hazards — and one serious violation for not training the workers on proper fall protection. Initial fines totalled $522,527, but the company contested the fines in early November.

Construction Dive could not locate contact information for Elite Roofing Services. 

Emanuel Enterprises LLC and ICI Construction Inc.
Fines: $315,643 total
Status: Contested (Emanuel Enterprises)

A federal OSHA investigation into a June roof collapse at a Friendswood, Texas, high school project that killed one worker and injured three others found two Houston columbus oh dump truck company failed to complete an engineering survey before demolition.

ICI Construction, the general contractor, and Emanuel Enterprises, the demolition contractor, failed to complete a survey, OSHA alleged, allowing demolition to continue even after hazards became apparent. OSHA claims the companies directed employees to continue columbus oh dump truck company under the structure that would ultimately collapse on them.

The agency cited both companies for ignoring the federally required survey, and also cited Emanuel Enterprises for three serious violations for failing to protect workers from silica exposure.

ICI Construction faces $140,633 in initial fines for its one citation, while Emanuel Enterprises’ citations totaled $175,010. The latter is contesting the fines.

Both companies declined Construction Dive’s request for comment. 

Elmer Miller
Fines: $278,452 total
Status: Contested

On two occasions, one month apart, inspectors discovered workers on an Illinois roofing contractor’s jobsites working at heights without any fall protection, OSHA said in a release.