The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), has accused Illinois-based roofing contractor, Miller Building Systems LLC, of breaching workplace safety regulations. The company, owned by Elmer Miller, has previously been fined over 20 times by the department. This time, the DOL alleges that the company exposed its employees to potential falls while they were engaged in a residential construction project in Savoy, Illinois.
In a news release from the DOL, it was reported that OSHA investigators observed company employees climbing, standing and walking on roofs, top plates and beams without any safety equipment while framing houses in June and July of 2023. Some of these activities took place at heights reported to be 18 feet above ground level. Falls are currently identified as the leading cause of death within the construction industry.
"Preventable falls remain the construction industry’s leading cause of death and injuries," stated OSHA Area Director Edward Marshall. "Miller's repeated failure to follow federal workplace safety rules shows a disturbing disregard for his employee’s lives and well-being."
According to the same news release, Miller Building Systems is facing fines totaling $278,452 for three willful and four serious violations. OSHA inspectors reportedly encountered resistance when they arrived at the job site. The company has been cited for lacking fall protection equipment and not providing a means of egress from the roof. Additionally, five other inspections have been initiated by OSHA investigators in August, October and November 2023.
Over the past decade, Miller Building Systems and its subsidiaries have incurred 20 fines for repeated violations amounting to over $900,000 as per information in the news release. A significant portion of these fines remains unpaid and pertains to failures in protecting workers from substantial injury in case of falls during roof construction. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that out of 1,069 construction workers who died on the job in 2022, 395 deaths were due to falls.
