OSHA Proposes $1.9M Fine for Safety Hazard Exposures

A framing contractor faces $1.9 million in fines for exposing workers to safety hazards at four New Jersey worksites, OSHA said,.

OSHA is proposing the penalties against BB Frame LLC of Palisades Park, NJ—operating as Frame Q—and against owner Juan Quevedo, based on five investigations into the company.

The Justice Department said in a February 2019 lawsuit that Frame Q failed to pay the federal government over $678,000 in civil penalties and delinquent fees OSHA levied between 2013 and 2017 for dozens of safety violations.

Quevedo dissolved Frame Q shortly after the lawsuit was filed but continued doing business as Frame Q while using the BB Frame corporate entity, OSHA said.

In December 2019, OSHA inspectors, acting on a complaint at a Cliffside Park, N.J., worksite, cited BB Frame for nine safety violations and proposed $520,860 in penalties.

Other investigations followed at BB Frame worksites, including:

• Five citations and a proposed penalty of $426,785 at a Fort Lee, N.J. worksite
• Five citations and a proposed penalty of $405,588 at a second Cliffside Park worksite
• Three citations and a proposed penalty of $274,892 at a Palisades Park worksite
• Eight violations and a proposed penalty of $369,000 at the same Palisades Park worksite

Among the many violations are fall hazards, repeatedly failing to protect workers from head injuries from falling or flying objects, and failing to provide eye and face protection from debris and falling materials.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Phillip Montgomery (860.244.1982).