A Pennsylvania framing contractor has been given multiple citations and fined nearly $270,000 for repeatedly endangering employees working at unsafe construction sites, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced recently.
An investigation by DOL’s Occupational and Health Administration (OSHA) on April 21 found that Philadelphia contractor Max Contractors Inc. was once again exposing construction workers to "deadly fall hazards," the DOL announced Oct. 31. The investigation was prompted by a report that workers at a residential construction site in the city's Roxbury neighborhood were vulnerable to dangerous falls.
"Inspectors observed workers on the building’s second and third levels working near floor holes and the edge of the building without fall protection, exposing them to falls up to 22 feet," the DOL states in the report.
Max Contractors Inc. was issued three serious and six repeat citations and fined $269,594 by OSHA for violations that include failing to provide fall protection, safety goggles when using air-powered nail guns and necessary employee training, and for allowing inappropriate use of ladders.
The April inspection was the most recent of eight investigations into Max Contractors Inc. since 2021, the DOL reports. Previous inspections resulted in citations for five willful and 21 serious violations for disregarding federal safety requirements.
"Max Contractors Inc. has a long history of not complying with U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations," the agency states in the report.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 1,008 construction workers who died while at work in 2020, 351 deaths were the result of "falls from elevation," the report states.
“Max Contractors’ repeated and blatant disregard for its employees’ safety and well-being will not be tolerated,” Philadelphia OSHA Area Director Theresa Downs said in the report.
“Falls can cause serious, potentially debilitating injuries and death," Downs said. "OSHA will hold employers like Max Contractors Inc. accountable until they meet their legal obligation to respect workers’ rights to a safe workplace.”
