OSHA cites Ziggy’s Roofing of Norridge; proposes $115K in penalties

Feb. 2, 2016

Area builder exposes workers to dangerous fall hazards at two Chicago area job sites within a month OSHA cites Ziggy’s Roofing of Norridge; proposes $115K in penaltiesNORRIDGE, Ill. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Norridge roofing contractor after inspectors saw employees working on residential roofing projects without fall protection at two Chicago area job sites within a month. The agency issued three repeated, one willful and one serious safety citation to Ziggy’s Roofing Inc. on Jan. 29. Proposed penalties total $115,500.

Falls are a leading cause of death for construction workers, accounting for nearly 40 percent* of construction fatalities in 2014.

“Ziggy’s Roofing continues to ignore OSHA standards and is failing to protect its employees on the job,” said Angeline Loftus, OSHA’s area director for the Chicago North Office in Des Plaines. “OSHA will continue to monitor this employer for compliance, and do everything in its power to keep workers safely out of life-threatening working conditions.”

On July 29, 2015, an OSHA inspector observed four employees doing residential roofing work in Chicago without fall protection, such as guardrails, safety nets or personal fall prevention devices. The workers were at risk of falls of more than 14 feet. On the ground below, employees were working without head protection and using nail guns without eye protection.

Less than a month later, OSHA inspectors observed two employees exposed to similar fall hazards as they worked on a two-story residential roof at a Schaumburg job site on Aug. 17, 2015.

OSHA has inspected Ziggy’s Roofing four times since 2003 for exposing workers to fall hazards at Chicago area construction sites.

OSHA offers a Stop Falls online resource with detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection standards. The page provides fact sheets, posters and videos that illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures. OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection be in use when workers perform construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level.

The agency’s ongoing Fall Prevention Campaign was developed in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH’s National Occupational Research Agenda program. Begun in 2012, the campaign provides employers with lifesaving information and educational materials on how to prevent falls, provide the right equipment for workers and train employees to use gear properly.

View July* and August* citations.

Ziggy’s Roofing 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.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Chicago North area office at 847-803-4800.

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 ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit https://www.osha.gov.

Source: OSHA

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