OSHA Seeks $306K Fine From Massachusetts Roofer for Alleged Fall Safety Violations

A Framingham, Massachusetts roofing contractor with a history of fall-related safety violations again exposed its employees to potentially fatal falls, this time to falls of up to 20 feet at a residential worksite in Boston’s Hyde Park neighborhood, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Brothers Construction Services Inc. – which also operates as Brothers Construction and Roofing and Brothers Roofing – faces $306,229 in proposed penalties following an OSHA inspection.

Brothers Construction has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent OSHA review commission.

OSHA said it opened the inspection of Brothers Construction Services Inc. at the Lexington Avenue worksite in Boston on Aug. 17, 2023, in response to a complaint that workers on the roof of a residential property were not using fall protection. Inspectors observed multiple OSHA violations involving inadequate fall protection, scaffolds, ladders, training, safety inspections and personal protective equipment.

As a result of these conditions, OSHA cited Brothers Construction Services Inc. for eight willful, repeat, serious and other than serious violations, carrying a total of $306,229 in proposed penalties.

“Falls remain the number one killer in construction work, year in and year out. Yet, this employer and too many others repeatedly fail to provide and ensure basic, commonsense and legally required safeguards for their employees,” said OSHA area director James Mulligan.

Since 2011, OSHA has cited the firm and associated entities for similar hazards at worksites in Acton, Arlington, Dedham, Framingham, Holliston, Middleboro, Wareham and Woburn, Massachusetts, and Windham, New Hampshire.

Topics Workers' Compensation Massachusetts