Construction firms that ignored stop-work order fined
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Two Northern California construction companies have been issued total fines of more than $300,000 for allegedly exposing workers to cave-in hazards at a construction site, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health said Thursday.
San Mateo, California-based EMI Design & Construction Inc. was fined $164,465 for 10 alleged workplace safety violations, while Salt Light Investments Inc. of Oakland, California, was fined $140,375 for three alleged violations, the California safety department said in a statement. The citations were based on an April investigation of work that the contractors performed for a residential construction project in Piedmont, California.
EMI Design and Salt Light were issued willful violations for allegedly failing to provide proper shoring, or supports, for 11-foot walls at the site, the safety department said. EMI was also cited for serious violations related to an unguarded floor opening and an unguarded wall opening.
The safety department issued a stop-work order to EMI and Salt Light based on the alleged hazards, but said the companies ordered workers to return to the site without correcting the cited safety hazards.
“Excavation collapses and cave-ins cause serious workplace injuries and fatalities. These citations remind employers to abide by Cal/OSHA stop work orders that are issued to protect workers from unsafe conditions,” said Christine Baker, director of the California Department of Industrial Relations, in the statement.
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