An administrative law judge of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has upheld citations and fines issued against a Florida contractor for violating the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s construction standards, although the judge lowered the assessed penalties.

OSHA conducted two separate investigations of Payton Roofing Inc.’s worksite in Lauderhill, Florida, in 2016, according to commission documents. The agency issued a repeat citation and a serious citation alleging a violation of OSHA’s construction standards and proposed a total penalty of $21,560 for the two citations in May 2016, which the contractor contested, and the Department of Labor withdrew at the start of trial in July 2017.

Separately, OSHA issued a repeat citation and a serious citation alleging a violation of OSHA’s construction standards and proposed a total penalty of $32,340 for the two citations, which Payton Roofing also contested. The department withdrew one item of the citations, but proceeded with the other items of both citations at trial, which Payton Roofing did not attend.

The administrative law judge hearing the case agreed with the department that Payton Roofing violated an OSHA standard related to an uninspected fall arrest system after an employee failed to remove a defective lifeline from use despite knowledge of the defect and affirmed the citation.

“Based on the record, the court finds that a fall due to defective lifelines was possible on (Payton Roofing’s) worksite,” the judge said. “The court further finds that a fall from a height of 18 feet could result in a fatality, severe injuries or disability. The citation item is properly characterized as serious.”

The judge also affirmed a citation related to an alleged hole violation, finding that the failure to use proper personal fall arrest systems near uncovered and unguarded holes exposed employees to a fall of 12 feet to the floor below, and an alleged anchorage violation, finding that a fall of 18 feet, due to a failed anchorage, could result in severe injuries, including broken bones or death.

The judge disagreed with the department’s imposition of a 10% increase in the penalty due to Payton Roofing’s prior history because it incorporated a previous citation that only became a final order of the review commission well after the inspections were conducted and the citations issued in this case and disallowed the increase. The assessed penalties for the affirmed citation items totaled $14,700.

The administrative law judge’s decision became a final order of the review commission on Dec. 1.

Owner Tim Payton said is “still livid” about OSHA’s issuance of citations and penalties and its surveillance methods, which he said included agency inspectors monitoring his worksites from across the street with binoculars. He said he plans to appeal the decision.

“I just couldn’t believe that the federal government would do something like that,” he said, noting that the agency did drop several citations and proposed penalties against his company before the trial after he challenged their facts. “I guess they’re not used to people contesting it.”