Chicago contractor faces $268,000 fine for exposing workers to deadly fall hazards

A federal workplace safety investigation has found that a Metro-Chicago carpentry contractor with a long history of exposing employees to potentially deadly hazards again ignored regulations to protect workers from falls.

For the seventh time since 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Dromin Development LLC for failing to provide required safety equipment and training to employees building a new home in Frankfort. The company currently owes more than $114,000 in unpaid penalties for similar serious and willful violations.

The March 2024 inspection in Frankfort determined that Dromin allowed employees to work at heights greater than 6 meters without fall protection and did not provide training in fall protection and proper forklift operation. OSHA also noted that workers did not wear hard hats and used ladders improperly.

OSHA cited the Palos Park building contractor for two repeat violations and one willful violation, one serious and one non-serious. The agency proposed penalties of $268,309.

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.

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