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The Contractor Coaching Partnership Blog

As America celebrates the 4th, OSHA increases fines

Posted by Mark Paskell on Tue, Jul 05, 2016 @ 05:09 PM

While most of us were enjoying the Fourth of July weekend, OSHA provided some fireworks of their own by announcing their new fine and penalty structure. Fines will increase a whopping 78% above the 1990 fine levels for those who do not follow the OSHA standards, train and protect their workers and fail to have safety programs.

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Tags: osha manuals, osha fines, safety programs, top 10 osha violations

Fall death, injury or OSHA fine, then contractors do training

Posted by Mark Paskell on Sun, Jan 03, 2016 @ 04:30 AM

Here's how it goes...someone falls and gets killed, someone gets injured, or OSHA audits a job site and cites/fines the contractor. Then after the unsafe act, the contractor has incentive to get on board with OSHA safety, compliance and training. Next the concern for other workers getting hurt, threat of large fines for not protecting and training them, lawsuits and increase workmans compensation rates compels the contractor to adopt safety protocol.  

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Tags: osha fines, fall death, fall protection, training

OSHA to increase fines 80% based on inflation index

Posted by Mark Paskell on Tue, Nov 17, 2015 @ 11:07 PM

Buried deep in the recently passed Congressional budget signed by President Obama, OSHA has been instructed to raise their fines for violations. OSHA penalties have been stagnant for 25 years. In 1990, The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 exempted OSHA from raising fines to account for inflation. In the new law there is an amendment that strikes the exemption.

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Tags: osha fines

Conn contractor nailed for $294,000 for fall protection violations

Posted by Mark Paskell on Mon, Sep 15, 2014 @ 08:23 PM

It must stink to be this contractor in Connecticut today. Can you imagine being fined for almost $300,000.00? Worse, can you imagine what it looks like to consumers thinking of hiring you with pending proposals, when they Google your company and the OSHA fines pop up in the search results? OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Tags: osha fines

10 ways OSHA finds out about your construction job site;

Posted by Mark Paskell on Sun, Aug 03, 2014 @ 04:18 PM

10 ways OSHA finds your job site;

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Tags: osha fines, deaths, citations

Reducing OSHA fines by 50% after a contractor job site inspection

Posted by Mark Paskell on Wed, Jul 23, 2014 @ 05:04 PM

In Region 1 (New England), OSHA allows contractors the opportunity to reduce their fines by 50% if they meet certain eligibility criteria. The policy is called the Expedited Informal Agreement Settlement or EISA. Typically there are on average three citations on a job site.   Three SERIOUS fines can add up to $21,000.00. If you qualify for EISA saving $11,500.00 will be a big help.  

I recently helped a contractor client to get his fines reduced and the 50% reduction paid for the safety equipment he was needed to have to protect his workers.

The chances of having your construction job site inspected by OSHA are extremely high if you are a residential contractor. Citations and fines for fall protection violations are again on the top of the 10 most cited listed. OSHA's number one enforcement focus is fall protection in the residential industry. 2014 OSHA inspections are up over 60% over 2013!  The question is not if, but when will your job site be inspected by OSHA? 

What happens when your site is inspected?

The OSHA officer will have reason (probable cause) to come into your site.

Then he/she will Identify themselves and tell why they are there. You can deny them entrance however be forewarned that they will likely come back with a warrant and the calvary. This bad faith will likely disqualify you for a 50% reduction in fine amounts.

Once on site, they will conduct an opening conference, assess the site and speak to your workers. You will have the opportunity to abate unsafe conditions immediately. 

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Tags: osha fines

What will happen to your business if you are fined by OSHA?

Posted by Mark Paskell on Mon, Jul 07, 2014 @ 08:30 AM

The saying "out of sight and out of mind" applies to many contractors who choose not to follow OSHA rules. Many contractors tell me they are not too concerned with OSHA stating "we will worry about compliance when we are visited. In a recent post I reported that most of the contractors in our fall protection trainings were only there because they were cited and fined.

This got me thinking;
What will happen to your business if you are cited and fined by OSHA?

Can your business really afford a fine?
Will there be other costs as a result of an unplanned job site inspection?

Will the fines and auxiliary costs come at the worse possible time and impact your ability to pay your bills?

 

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Tags: osha fines

Contractor & Sub fined 4 fall protection on same job in Sterling Mass

Posted by Mark Paskell on Sat, Jul 05, 2014 @ 09:32 AM

A contractor and subcontractor were fined for fall protection violations on the same roofing project in Sterling, Massachusetts. The contractor, Labelle Roofing and subcontractor Manuel Antonio Enriquez Patino are posted on the OSHA enforcement website. The site visit was the result of someone making a complaint.
There are several possibilities why more than one contractor can be cited and fined on the same job site on the same day.
  • Multiple contracting companies working on the site at the same time can be cited for their own unsafe work practices. When one contractor's work triggers (RED FLAG) an inspection the CSHO will look at others in view on the site. 
  • Under OSHA's Multi-Employer Citation Policy the controlling or prime contractor can be be fined on the same job site for allowing unsafe work by their subs. This includes General Contractors, Remodelers, Construction Managers, Roofing, Siding and Home Improvement Contractors who have a responsibility under the OSH Act to have a safe work site for all workers.

Here are the details of the Sterling Mass Fall Protection and Ladder Violations

You will notice in the picture that the there are two men on the upper slope of the Gambrel roof. They are not wearing fall protection harnesses. Next look at the two ladders that are set up to access the porch and the upper roof. Both ladders are not set up three feet above the roof edge. The ladder to the upper slope is set at an angle more than 4:1. The ground where the ladder is set is messy. Here from the OSHA enforcement website you can see the results of the contruction job site inspection. The standards violated are listed;
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Tags: osha fines

Mass Contractor Fined $119,350 4 Roofers Death, No Fall Protection

Posted by Mark Paskell on Tue, May 20, 2014 @ 10:18 AM

Here we go again, another contractor fined for a roofers death due to lack of proper fall protection. The contractor, Fairview Contractors, Inc. from Lee, Mass. was fined for a whopping $119,350.00. The contractor was cited for 2 willful violations for failure to provide fall protection and 5 serious for the remaining hazards. (See the fines below)

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Tags: osha fines, deaths

Conn. contractor OSHA fall protection fines show up in Google search

Posted by Mark Paskell on Sun, Apr 06, 2014 @ 01:00 PM

A Connecticut siding contractor, fined by Bridgeport OSHA for fall protection violations, is getting the wrong kind of on line exposure in Google search results. In our fall protection training at Rings End in Stratford one of our students talked about this OSHA on line exposure and his concern that it could cost him business.

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Tags: osha fines, on line