The U.S. Department of Labor has found that a Watertown roofing contractor repeatedly violated federal regulations for fall protections. This determination followed a workplace safety investigation into an incident where an employee suffered fatal injuries after falling approximately 27 feet while carrying materials and climbing a ladder jack scaffold at a Brighton work site in September 2023.
The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had previously cited OJR Construction Inc. in March 2017 and September 2019 for failing to protect employees from fall hazards by not complying with required safety standards.
“Two previous OSHA inspections made it clear to OJR Construction what protections had to be in place to protect employees from potentially debilitating or deadly falls, but the company chose to ignore its responsibilities,” said OSHA Area Director James Mulligan in Braintree, Massachusetts. “As a result, a worker died needlessly, leaving family, friends and co-workers to grieve their loss and the company to face the consequences.”
OSHA inspectors discovered that the company knowingly exposed employees to fall hazards by not providing a safety net or personal fall arrest or guardrail systems. They also failed to have a program to train employees to recognize and address fall hazards. The agency’s investigation also determined that the company exposed workers to falls and other hazards by not complying with OSHA regulations that required several measures including installing guard rails on scaffolds, extending ladder side rails at least 3 feet above the upper landing surface being accessed, barricading areas below scaffold and ladders within vehicular traffic pathways, having competent personnel on site for ensuring use of fall protection, preventing debris accumulation at ladder bottoms for safe worksite access, and providing eye protection for employees using nail guns.
Following its investigation, the agency cited OJR Construction Inc. for one willful violation and 10 serious violations, assessing $88,721 in proposed penalties as per federal statute.
OJR Construction Inc., based in Watertown, provides residential and commercial construction contracting services. The company has chosen to contest OSHA’s citations before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 1,069 construction workers died on the job. Of those deaths, 395 were related to falls from elevations. OSHA’s stop falls website offers safety information and video presentations in English and Spanish to educate workers about fall hazards and proper safety procedures.
