Roofer pays civil penalty after teen worker falls to death
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An Alabama roofing contractor has paid a $117,175 penalty that was issued after a 15-year-old worker died during a 50-foot fall at a Cullman work site in July 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday.
The DOL said Apex Roofing & Restoration LLC agreed to pay the civil penalty in connection with an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division that found the company illegally employed the teenager in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The teenager, who was on the first day of the job, fell from the roof of a Cullman Casting Corp. building and suffered fractures of the skull, wrist and ribs along with other severe injuries, the DOL said. The teen died at the scene of the incident.
The DOL said Apex violated the FLSA by employing someone under 18 years of age in a dangerous position.
The civil penalty was assessed through a federal child-enhanced penalty program.
Apex, in a statement, said the fatality occurred because a subcontractor’s worker brought a sibling to a work site without the company’s knowledge or permission, and it has a “long-standing policy prohibiting any form of child labor.”
“We at Apex Roofing & Restoration are truly heartbroken by the senseless death of a minor at a job site in 2019,” the statement said.
Apex said it has since implemented measures to strengthen workplace safety and security.
