OSHRC law judge upholds most citations against mason

An administrative law judge of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission upheld most citation items against a New Jersey masonry employer, but vacated one alleged violation of workplace safety standards.

In August 2016, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued serious and repeat violations against Vineland, New Jersey-based Guzzo Masonry Inc. after the agency received a phone complaint about the use of scaffolds, according to the judge’s ruling.

The judge affirmed several agency citation items, including a serious violation related to Guzzo’s failure to provide fully planked platforms at all working levels.

But the judge vacated a citation item related to the employer’s alleged failure to provide a footing capable of supporting the loaded scaffold without displacement after finding that the compliance officer’s testimony about what could have happened was “speculative at best,” meaning the regulator did not establish the company’s failure to comply with the requirements of the cited standard.

The judge imposed $38,411 in total penalties for the affirmed violations.

The judge’s decision became a final order of the commission Monday.

An attorney for the company could not be immediately reached for comment.