OSHA cites Peoria Siding & Window Co.
Employers Can Be Removed from OSHA's Severe Violators List

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Peoria Siding & Window Co.
for failing to provide roofers with fall protection

WASHINGTON, Ill. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Peoria Siding & Window Co. Inc. of Washington, Ill., with one willful safety violation for failing to provide fall protection for employees working on residential roofing projects. The company faces penalties totaling $48,400.

The citation follows an investigation OSHA conducted in November at a jobsite in Pekin, Ill. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

"Falls are a leading cause of injury and death in the workplace," said Thomas Bielema, OSHA's area director in Peoria, Ill. "Failing to provide fall protection is unacceptable, and OSHA is committed to ensuring employers abide by this agency's safety and health regulations."

Peoria Siding & Window, an exterior home improvement company, also was cited for failing to provide fall protection for workers in July 2008 and July 2010.

OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection, such as guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems, be in use when workers perform residential construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level. Detailed information on fall protection hazards and safeguards is available online at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/index.html.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health standards can call OSHA's Peoria, Ill., office at 309-589-7033. To report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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