Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday that it has fined a Wisconsin building supply company $92,226 for repeatedly subjecting workers to potential fall hazards that could have injured or killed them.
The penalty was assessed against ABC Supply Co. Inc. of Beloit, Wisconsin, after an inspection of a job site in Salem on June 24 where the company was delivering roofing materials.
The company has appealed the citation. Officials from the company could not be reached Wednesday. The inspection found two employees using a conveyor to move roofing materials with one employee on the ground and the other on the roof. The inspection found an employee walking with materials on the roof with no protection system, exposing the employee to a fall of up to 18 feet.
The agency said the company violated a rule that requires employers to ensure that employees are protected when working 6 feet or more off the ground.
The recent citation was the third for the company since July 2022. On July 13, 2022 the company was issued a penalty for two violation – one fall violation and another related to the use of a boom lift – for $32,400, OSHA spokesman, Aaron Corvin said. Corvin said the company corrected the violations and paid the penalty.
The company was issued another fall protection violation on July 6, 2023, and received a penalty of $1,015, Corvin said. The company appealed the citation and the appeal remains pending, he said. On April 10, 2024, the company got another fall protection violation which it also appealed. A settlement was reached and the original penalty was reduced from $46,113 to $32,280. The company paid the penalty, Corvin said.
In the construction industry, falls are one of the leading causes of death, the agency said.
“Any job task where an employee is assigned to work at heights must be taken seriously by employers. Our fall protection standards are there to safeguard workers each step of the way, from supply and distribution to finishing the project,” said Renée Stapleton, administrator for Oregon OSHA. “Our standards are clear and practical. Repeatedly failing to follow them is unacceptable.”
The penalty issued to the company was higher than usual because of the repeated offenses, the agency said.
“I’d say the penalty issued to ABC is relatively high, given that the violation was a third repeat, with the severity of a potential injury from a fall rated as death,” said OSHA spokesman, Aaron Corvin. “At the same time, the violation’s probability rating was “low,” which is based on certain factors.”
Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.
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Joe Siess is a reporter for Salem Reporter. Joe joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government but loves surprises. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially starts, and grew up in the Kansas City area.
