For the sixth time in the last three years, a Millersburg, Ohio Contractor in Medina has been cited by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for failing to comply with workplace safety standards for its team of residential construction workers.

The federal safety inspectors monitored a worksite of the Ohio Contractor in Medina and pointed out that the contractor had failed, yet again, to ensure safe working conditions for its workers. Fall protection equipment was nowhere to be seen on the construction site, and the workers were facing serious fall risks.

The inspection revealed that the workers were busy on their job, some 24 feet above the ground, without any fall safety equipment even though the minimum for the same is six feet. For such blatant violations of workplace safety requirements, OSHA penalized Jonas Hershberger, the company owner, with a fine of $136,453.

Plus, the crew was also not wearing any of the required eye goggles, helmets, or face protective gear. However, the inspectors unveiled that the company had an adequate safety program in its business framework, yet they had failed to comply with the legal safety requirements.

Howard Eberts, the OSHA Area Director in Cleveland, commented that roofing and other residential construction industries pose serious worker safety concerns and that the onus lies on the employer to ensure the safety of their workers.

The ramifications of non-compliance, as noted earlier (the fine) can be severe.

In their press release, OSHA announced that fall protection remains by far the largest and most-cited risk factor in the construction industry, and only in 2019, over a thousand workers died due to the same (1,601 to be exact).

If you or a loved one ever gets into trouble because of such gross negligence on part of your employer, it is important to take immediate action. Seek out the help of a competent and skilled team of Ohio Workers Compensation Lawyers to get compensated for your losses.

Source: https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region5/07292021