An Ohio roofer was cited for the eighth time in seven years for unsafe working conditions for his employees.
Mike Krueger, owner of Altogether Roofing, of Martin, Ohio, was cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for exposing his workers to fall hazards, according to a Dec. 15 news release. Krueger faces $300,144 in penalties after an OSHA inspector watched eight employees atop a residence working at heights of up to 20 feet without fall protection in June.
"Altogether Roofing shows a callous disregard for the safety and well-being of its workers and continues to expose them to the risks of serious, debilitating and potentially fatal fall injuries," OSHA Area Director Todd Jensen said in the news release. "This employer, and others who continually put people in jeopardy can face our full legal powers to hold them accountable."
OSHA cited Krueger with five violations – three of willful, one repeat and one serious – for allegedly exposing his employees to fall hazards and lacking an accident prevention program, as well as failure to correctly use ladders, provide training on ladder usage and fall hazards and to provide eye protection, according to the release.
The latest citations were the eighth time since 2016 that federal safety inspectors found Krueger exposing his workers to "the construction industry’s leading cause of death" – falls from elevation. The news release reported 1,008 construction workers died on the job in 2020, "with 351 of those fatalities related to falls from elevation."
