Roofing company again cited by OSHA

TUSCOLA An area roofing contractor has again been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for safety violations.

Juan M. Garcia Martinez, for whom OSHA listed a Villa Grove address, was cited for four willful safety violations for exposing workers to fall hazards at two homes in Tuscola.

The agency had previously cited the contractor for similar violations at a home in Bloomington in March of this year.

For the most recent citations, OSHA has proposed penalties of $48,400. For the violations in Bloomington, the penalties amounted to $5,600, and the case file indicated a payment plan is in place for them.

"Martinez has not cooperated with OSHA during previous inspections and continues to fail to fix real hazards at its job sites," said Thomas Bielema, the agency's area director in Peoria, in a release. "Fall remains the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry, and the company's refusal to protect these workers really is a question of life or death."

On June 9, an OSHA compliance officer saw four employees working without fall protection on a roof on Beecher Drive in Tuscola. Then on June 27, another six workers were seen working without fall protection on a roof on Carico Street in Tuscola.

In both instances, the workers were at heights greater than 9 feet. OSHA standards require that fall protection be used when workers are doing construction more than 6 feet from the next lower level.

Martinez was cited for two willful violations at each site one of failing to provide fall protection and one of failing to develop an accident prevention program. OSHA regulations require means of fall protection, such as guardrail systems, safety nets, warning-line systems or personal fall-arrest systems.

OSHA describes "willful" violations as those committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health.

Agency spokesman Scott Allen said there was an attempt to deliver notice of the violations to Martinez at the Villa Grove address, but the notice was returned to the agency.

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Roofing company again cited by OSHA