OSHA Seeks $1M Penalty for New Jersey Contractor Added to ‘Severe Violator’ List

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a New Jersey contractor for again exposing workers to fall hazards, this time while working at a construction site in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

OSHA said it has inspected Adrian Construction five times since 2016, and in each instance the agency cited the company for failure to provide workers with fall protection.

OSHA has added the company to the Severe Violators Enforcement Program due to the serious nature of the fall violations.

OSHA said it initiated an inspection of Adrian Construction Group in July 2023 under a local emphasis program for falls in construction. The agency issued six willful violations for lack of fall protection and failure to ensure the use of eye protection and four serious violations for unsafe scaffolds and failure to provide hard hats for overhead hazards. The company faces a proposed penalty of $1,017,248 for these violations.

OSHA Assistant Secretary Doug Parker said Adrian Construction continues to show a “blatant disregard” for the safety of their employees,” “Placing them on the list of severe violators will intensify our scrutiny of their operations,” Parker said.

Adrian Construction Group is a residential carpentry and framing contractor with 20 employees under the ownership of Adrian Perea.

The company has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent review commission.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 1,069 construction workers died on the job in 2022, with 395 of those fatalities related to falls from elevations. Exposure to fall hazards makes residential framing and roofing work among the deadliest jobs in construction.

Source: OSHA

Topics Workers' Compensation New Jersey Contractors