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‘Serial violator’ cited by OSHA for fall hazards

Posted On: Feb. 10, 2023 1:09 PM CST

OSHA

A Massachusetts contractor who reneged on a federal settlement agreement in 2017 and who has a history of workplace safety hazards has once again been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration over alleged job site dangers.

OSHA on Thursday announced it issued citations to Quincy, Massachusetts-based The Roof Kings LLC for four willful violations for failing to provide workers with adequate fall protection and related failures.  

The company is facing proposed penalties of $137,508.

The Roof Kings, which OSHA termed a “serial violator,” has a long history of allegedly exposing workers to dangerous fall hazards.

The latest citations arose from a worksite visit in Quincy on Dec. 8, 2022, during which OSHA inspectors discovered that employees were being exposed to falls of up to 18 feet while working to remove shingles from an unprotected, two-story roof.  

Less than three months prior to that inspection, OSHA cited the company for fall protection hazards after inspectors said they observed workers exposed to fall hazards of up to 21 feet during work in Boston.

The company was issued $137,196 in penalties from that citation. The citations in that case are being contested, according to OSHA.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit found the company in contempt in May 2021 after it failed to honor a 2017 settlement agreement with OSHA in which it was supposed to pay outstanding penalties for inspections between 2014 and 2016.

Because the company reneged on the prior settlement agreement, the U.S. Department of Labor is now seeking greater penalties plus interest against the company, which would be separate from this most recent citation, according to OSHA.

The company, in business for 30-plus years, has contested these latest citations and penalties to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, OSHA stated.