Federal court holds roofing contractor in contempt
A federal court has issued an order holding Christopher Arps, operating as Capital City Roofing and Construction, Lincoln, Neb., in contempt of court and imposing a daily $100 fine if he fails to comply with a subpoena providing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration with documents necessary for an investigation of an employee’s fall off a residential roof in February 2023. The company is not an NRCA member.
OSHA opened an inspection at the worksite after learning of the incident and determined the employee was working without fall protection when he suffered cardiac arrest, fell and sustained serious injuries.
Arps continued to defy OSHA’s requests, failed to respond to a subpoena and did not appear at an Order to Show Cause hearing. The court then entered an order in May 2023 requiring Arps to produce documents. When he did not, the Department of Labor’s Office of the Solicitor filed a motion to hold him in contempt for failing to comply with the court’s orders.
Roofing contractor cited $159,117 for fall-hazard exposure
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In June 2023, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigator witnessed workers for All Phase Roofing Inc., Lake Park, Fla., installing roof membranes on garage roofs attached to two residential structures in Boca Raton, Fla., without using fall protection. The company is not an NRCA member.
OSHA cited All Phase Roofing with three repeat violations for not using fall protection, failing to have a competent person provide a job-site inspection to ensure employees use proper safety equipment before work begins, and allowing employees to perform roofing work before training them to recognize hazards and the proper use of fall-protection equipment.
All Phase Roofing also was cited with three serious violations for allowing workers to use an interior staircase not equipped with a stair rail at the open edge; allowing workers to use the fly section of an extension ladder to access a roof; and not having a competent person train workers regarding the proper use, setup and hazards associated with ladders. OSHA proposed $159,117 in penalties for the company.
NRCA’s classes, webinars and products offer information to ensure you keep your employees safe on job sites. Visit NRCA’s bookstore at shop.nrca.net for more information.
Amended OSHA record-keeping requirements take effect
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has implemented new reporting requirements that increase the number of employers required to submit their OSHA Form 300 logs and Form 301 incident reports to OSHA. Employers with 100 or more employees in certain high-hazard industries, including roofing, must submit this information annually.
Existing reporting requirements for employers with 20 to 249 employees in certain high-hazard industries and employers with 250 or more employees in industries that must routinely keep OSHA injury and illness records are not affected.
Additionally, organizations with more than 10 employees and not listed as a partially exempt industry are required to record and report serious occupational injuries and illnesses. Employers that are required to complete OSHA Form 300A–Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses also are required to post their 300A Form through April 30 in conspicuous places where notices to employees are customarily posted.
OSHA will publish some of the data collected on its website, osha.gov, to allow employers, employees, potential employees, employee representatives, current and potential customers, researchers and the public to use information about a company’s workplace safety and health record to make informed decisions. Additionally, researchers will be better able to identify patterns of injuries, illnesses and hazardous conditions in workplaces. OSHA says providing public access to the data will reduce occupational injuries and illnesses.
More information about the final rule is available at osha.gov/recordkeeping/final-rule.
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