Region 4 News Release:   USDOL: 01-10
Mon., Jan. 22, 2001
Contact: Lawrence J. Falck, III
Phone: (813) 626-1177, ext. 0

OSHA FINES FLORIDA SUB-CONTRACTOR NEARLY $230,000 FOR SCAFFOLD SAFETY VIOLATIONS

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Austin Builders, Inc., and proposed penalties totaling $229,250 for safety violations found at a Lithia, Fla., construction site.

"The owner of this company demonstrated a total disregard for the safety of his employees," said Lawrence J. Falck, OSHA's Tampa area director. " An OSHA compliance officer, driving by the construction site, observed workers 18 to 30 feet above the ground on scaffolds without guard rails. A safety inspection was conducted immediately because of OSHA's fall prevention emphasis program."

The July 5 inspection revealed other safety violations as well. OSHA cited the company for three willful violations with proposed penalties totaling $210,000 for allowing employees:

• to work on scaffolds erected over unstable mudsills with open holes beneath; (Mudsills - generally large pieces of lumber placed under the scaffold legs - serve as the foundation and prevent sinking. When holes are allowed to develop under the mudsills, the scaffolding has no support and may fall.)

• to climb either a "stair-stepped" masonry block wall or the scaffolding frames to reach the platform working level 18 to 30 feet above the ground;

• to work on the scaffold platform with no guardrails or other means of fall protection.

According to Falck, the general contractor had repeatedly warned Austin Builder's owner about the hazardous conditions and had withheld draw-down funds until hazards were abated. But the sub-contractor kept reverting to unsafe practices and was fired shortly after the OSHA inspection. Prior to the OSHA inspection, a Hillsborough County building inspector advised the sub-contractor about unsafe practices and cited the company for improper construction methods.

OSHA also cited Austin Builders, Inc., for five serious safety violations with proposed penalties totaling $19,250 for: exposing employees to the risk of impalement on unguarded rebars beneath the scaffold; allowing employees to work on scaffolds without cross bracing; not protecting employees working under the scaffold from falling objects, such as tools and material; not properly restraining scaffolds so they would not tip over; and, not training employees to recognize and avoid safety hazards at the job site.

Falck said the agency will work with employers who show a genuine concern for the welfare of workers. In 1999 OSHA launched the CARE program - Construction Accident Reduction Emphasis - with a series of extensive outreach training programs for the construction industry. Encouraged by the industry's positive response to that program, in May 2000 the agency initiated another local emphasis program targeted to reduce falls, a major cause of worker injuries and fatalities.

OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the OSH Act and regulations.

OSHA defines a serious violation as one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and that the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.

Inspection of the worksite was conducted by OSHA's area office located at 5807 Breckenridge Parkway, Suite A, Tampa, Fla., 33610-4249; telephone: (813) 626-1177.