The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health
Administration cited an Upper Darby contracting firm for safety violations
allegedly committed during the bricklaying of new residential homes in
Manayunk, the agency announced Monday.
OSHA is proposing $89,760 in fines for McGee Plastering
& Stucco, which the agency characterizes as a "severe violator"
due to a slew of citations they've handed down to the firm in the past.
OSHA officials in May inspected the construction site at
Leverington Avenue and Silverwood Street after receiving an imminent danger
complaint. The investigation led OSHA to slap McGee with four safety violations
on Nov. 5.
Two of the alleged violations — failing to provide
guardrails or to install braces to prevent a scaffold collapse — are considered
"willful," meaning they were committed with voluntary disregard for
the law or indifference to worker safety. Those violations carry a $77,000
penalty.
One repeat violation, which accounted for $11,000 of the
fine, concerned not providing workers with safe access to the working levels of
the frame scaffolding. McGee was cited for similar hazards in September and
October 2010, as well as in July 2011.
McGee also faces a $1,760 penalty for one serious violation,
described as a hazard the company knew or should have known about that posed a
substantial possibility of serious harm or death. That violation entails the
company's alleged failure to provide adequate training to employees working
with Portland cement, dolomitic lime and hydrochloric acid.
McGee was last cited by OSHA in September, when it received
10 safety violations relating to recurring fall hazards, poor head protection
and inadequate training worker training. The contractor was already placed in
the agency's Severe Violators Enforcement Program, which targets
"recalcitrant" employers that endanger workers by committing willful
or repeat safety violations.
“Six prior inspections for serious and repeat violations
indicate a pattern of disregard for safety and workers’ well-being that will
not be tolerated,” director of OSHA's Philadelphia area office Domenick
Salvatore said Monday in a news release. “These hazards pose a risk to
employees and must be corrected promptly to ensure a safe workplace.”
An OSHA representative said McGee, which has 15 days from
the receipt of the citations to comply or contest them, has not yet responded
to the most recent charges.
A person who answered the phone at McGee would not comment
and said to "call back tomorrow."
Source: Philly.com
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