Six contractors at a home-building site in Medford, New Jersey, are facing a fine of about $244,000 for putting workers at risk of serious or fatal injuries, reports the Burlington County Times.
A workplace safety regulator for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) alleges the contractors exposed workers to falls and other safety hazards. The fines were proposed after three inspections at the construction site in October 2020, OSHA said in a statement.
Among other violations, the contractors exposed workers to falls of more than six feet and did not provide personal protective equipment, the agency said.
OSHA proposed penalties of $107,000 for Claudio DeSousa of Philadelphia and $87,000 for Lezinho Sousa of Pennsauken.
DeSousa and Sousa, who operated at the Medford site as Lifetime Contractor Corp., each had two willful violations, OSHA alleged. It accused Claudio DeSousa of 14 serious violations, and Lezinho Sousa of nine serious violations.
According to the Burlington County Times, OSHA also proposed fines of about $16,400 for WSJ Construction, an Asbury Park contractor accused of three serious violations.
The administration is seeking fines of more than $12,000 from Gustavo Quintomillno of Beverly and LWJ Construction Co. of Long Branch, and of about $8,200 for RMM Contractor LLC, also of Long Branch.
Those three firms had a combined nine serious violations, OSHA alleged.
The contractors can comply with the penalties, request an informal conference with an OSHA official, or challenge the fines before an independent commission, the agency said.