An administrative law judge of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission downgraded a citation issued against a construction company from willful to serious and reduced the penalty from $49,000 to $2,800.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated an accident involving a foreman of Ocala, Florida-based Jody Wilson Construction Inc. who fell off the roof of a home and suffered a compound fracture to his right leg, according to the ruling in Secretary of Labor v. Jody Wilson Construction Inc.

Two employees working on the roof were not wearing personal fall arrest systems and there were no guardrail systems or safety nets being utilized at the worksite, according to commission documents. In addition, the safety monitor was not on the roof at the same level as the injured employee but was standing on the ground acting as a safety monitor while handing pieces of siding to another employee on the roof.

OSHA issued two citations, one of which alleged a willful violation of the agency’s fall protection standard related to residential construction activities with the proposed $49,000 fine while the other alleged an other-than-serious violation of OSHA’s fall protection training standard, with no proposed penalty.

While the judge concluded the secretary established all the elements necessary to prove the alleged violations, he decided the citation should be characterized as a serious violation, resulting in a significantly reduced penalty.

“Here, although there is evidence (Jody Wilson Construction) knew of an applicable standard or provision prohibiting the conduct or condition, there is no evidence it consciously disregarded the standard or had a ‘heightened awareness’ of that standard,” the judge said in the ruling. “Rather, (Jody Wilson Construction) attempted to comply with the standard, albeit incorrectly, by providing a safety monitor. Therefore, (Jody Wilson Construction) made a good faith effort to comply with the cited provision. Thus, the court concludes the violation was not a willful one.”

The administrative law judge’s ruling became a final order of the commission on Wednesday.

A company spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.