Chicago-based demolition company faces $60,000 fine for safety violations.
The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited National Wrecking Co. in Chicago with $60,000 in proposed penalties for alleged willful and serious violations of federal workplace safety standards.
As a result of a November 2009 inspection, OSHA has issued a willful citation to the company for failing to provide fall protection to employees working 16 feet above ground level. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirement, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
OSHA also has issued the company one serious citation for failing to protect workers exposed to struck by and caught in between hazards while working in a hydraulic excavator. An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm can result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.
“These types of violations show the company’s disregard for the safety and welfare of its workers,” said OSHA Area Director Gary Anderson, in Calumet City, Ill. “Those who ignore safe practices and OSHA regulations are inviting tragedy into the lives of their workers.”
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