Connecticut Builder Cited by OSHA

Faces $52,000 in fines

Rock Hard Homes, Inc., a residential home builder in Southbury, was cited by OSHA for four repeat and one serious violation of workplace fall safety standards.

Violations include: failure to equip employees with an adequate fall protection system while they worked on a pitched roof approximately 28 feet above the ground; allowing employees to walk and work on surfaces without fall protection and exposing them to falls through holes, including skylights; improperly using portable ladders to access upper landings in which the ladders did not extend beyond the landings by the required three feet; and use of defective equipment.

The repeat citations stem from this employer’s history of similar fall protection violations cited by OSHA in August 2011 in Brookfield and May and June 2013 in Norwalk.

“While an accident did not prompt this inspection, the penalties proposed in this case demonstrate the severe nature of the cited hazards and the employer’s lack of concern for its workers,” said Robert Kowalski, OSHA area director in Bridgeport. “Fall hazards can and should be prevented through the use of proper equipment, training and safeguards for workers.”

Falls are the leading cause of death among construction workers, with 294 fatalities in the nation and 5 in Connecticut in the most recent figures from 2013. To help combat this deadly trend, OSHA is hosting a National Safety Stand-Down from May 4 to 15 in which employers will talk to their employees about safety practices and procedures on the job sites.