Fine, serious citations against strapping firm affirmed

A strapping manufacturer that used its own workers to repair fire damage on its roof and was caught not using fall protection must pay a total fine of $20,000 after an administrative law judge with the Occupational Health and Safety Review Commission on Wednesday affirmed four serious citations.

Brooklyn Heights, Ohio-based North Shore Strapping Company Inc. needed to replace the roof of its building after a fire and “rather than hire a construction contractor to replace the roof, North Shore hired workers and used its own management to supervise the work,” in the midst of which an OSHA compliance officer investigating observed workers not using fall protection in four separate instances, according to documents in Secretary of Labor v. North Shore Strapping Co., filed in Atlanta.

The company disputed the four serious citations mainly claiming that they were “duplicative” and that the issues were abated by the company, an argument the judge ruled did not stand, as the workers were observed in different instances not using fall protection and not all issues were abated, as chronicled in the 20-page final ruling.

Officials with the company and attorneys involved could not immediately be reached for comment.