Florida Construction Companies Push Back Against OSHA Operation Methods

Florida construction companies facing enormous OSHA fines say the issue of accountability is not cut and dry, local television station WBBH-TV reports. The companies, many facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines for not keeping roofers safe from falls, also argue against OSHA's operation methods.

Fall protection violations are the most frequent citations the feds cite roofing contractors for, according to CCIA president Bill Johnson Jr. OSHA can cite a company for that violation if they see a roofer, drywall installer, ladder worker or any person operating above six feet off the ground not complying with fall protection safety regulations. OSHA then fines the company the employee works for.

One Florida company facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fall protection violation fines in what they call somewhat unfair scrutiny from OSHA is Crown Roofing.

"We train our workers on the safety program and provide the necessary equipment for them to work safe," Aleksey Mendez, Crown Roofing corporate safety director, said. "The notion that Crown Roofing does not care about employee safety is not only factually incorrect but intellectually dishonest. To keep fining the employer for actions that are purposely done by the employee is not making them safer."

Mendez said it would be ideal if the agency would quit slapping massive fines an entire business, for one employee's defiance of safety regulations.

"At some point in time, employees need to be held accountable," Mendez said. "The agency is never going to fine an employee, perhaps that needs to be looked at. What's going to happen is that we won't be able to be in business anymore and those employees are going to work for someone that—guess what—is not going to be as safety conscientious as we are.”