09-731-NEW / BOS 2009-217
Monday, July 20, 2009
Contact: John Chavez
Phone: 617-565-2075

Fall hazards at Forest Hills, N.Y., worksite lead to more than $120,000 in U.S. Labor Department OSHA fines for Long Island contractor
Painting and Decorating Inc. previously cited in 2007 and 2008

NEW YORK -- A Ronkonkoma, N.Y., masonry contractor with a history of worksite safety violations again has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, this time at a Forest Hills, N.Y., worksite. Painting and Decorating Inc. has been cited for five alleged repeat violations of safety standards and faces a total of $120,750 in new fines.

The inspection began Jan. 23 when an OSHA inspector, driving by the 110-40 68th Drive worksite, observed employees performing stucco work on a 13-foot high scaffold without guardrails or a fall protection system. The inspector also found that Painting and Decorating Inc. had not: fully-planked the scaffold, provided a ladder for workers to access the scaffold, refrained from using makeshift devices to increase the scaffold's height or provided the workers with protective helmets.

"One means of maintaining safe working conditions is to establish and implement a safety and health management system through which employees and management continually evaluate, identify and eliminate work hazards," said Mendelson.

OSHA issues repeat citations when an employer has been previously cited for substantially similar hazards and those citations have become final. In this case, OSHA cited Painting and Decorating Inc. in 2007 and 2008 at worksites in Kings Point and Great Neck, N.Y.

Painting and Decorating Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with the OSHA area director or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Queens District Office; telephone 718-279-9060.

Detailed information on scaffolding and fall protection is available online at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/scaffolding/construction.html and http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/index.html.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA's role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

###

U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audiotape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.