Wisconsin contractor faces $144,000 fine for endangering workers

A suburban Madison, Wis., contractor with a history of federal safety failures — including violations that fatally injured an employee in 2022 — has again been found exposing workers to the construction industry’s deadliest hazard — falls at height – during a federal safety inspection in February 2024.

U.S. Department of Labor compliance officers opened their inspection after observing six employees of GL Construction of Madison LLC on a residential construction site in Verona doing framing work up to 12 feet off the ground without the required protective equipment. Inspectors initiated their inspection as part of OSHA’s National Fall Focus Program.

The Sun Prairie company received citations for one willful violation, two repeat violations and five serious violations and proposed $144,505 in penalties, the most recent violations for a contractor found to have defied federal safety regulations in inspections in each of the past four years.

In October 2023, four months before the most recent investigation, OSHA found employees exposed to falls and other hazards at a Sun Prairie construction site and cited the company for one repeat violation and two serious violations.

The willful and repeated violations relate to similar safety failures found by OSHA during its investigation into the April 2022 death of a GL Construction employee struck by a 1,000-plus-pound wall that toppled over while a work crew tried to use a crane to lift the structure. in strong winds. The incident led OSHA to cite the company for nine serious and two non-serious violations.

To date, GL Construction has not paid related federal penalties, provided abatement information, or complied with the terms of an agreement between OSHA and the company.

The company has 15 business days after receiving the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or challenge the findings before the independent Occupational Health and Safety Review Board.

Source: OSHA

TOPICS
Wisconsin Contractors