Rockland contractor faces $1.3 million fine for worker's death, other violations

Steve Lieberman, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
·3 min read

NANUET −A roofing contractor with a history of being fined for unsafe working conditions faces a proposed $1.3 million penalty after a worker fell to his death, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.

ALJ Home Improvement Inc. came under investigation after a worker fell from the roof of a three-story residential construction project in Spring Valley on Feb. 8, the labor department said Monday. The agency said that in February 2019, another company employee died in a fall at a Kiamesha Lake work site in the Sullivan County town of Thompson.

A man answering the phone at ALJ’s office said Tuesday he would take care of the issues with the government and declined to comment further. While he identified himself as the owner, Jose, and declined to provide his last name, the government violations notice identified him as Jose Lema, president of ALJ.

OSHA cites Nanuet contractor: ALJ issues multiple violations by federal government watchdog

Violations: OSHA cites ALJ Home Improvements of Nanuet for worker's death and safety violations

OSHA issues violations

The potential fine resulted from a determination by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that ALJ failed to provide fall protection training or ensure effective fall protection safeguards were used. The company also failed to provide eye protection for employees using pneumatic nail guns, exposing them to the risk of serious eye injuries.

The labor department stated ALJ’s knowledge of fall and eye protection requirements, and its deliberate and recurring violations of these standards, led OSHA to issue egregious citations for each instance an employee at the Spring Valley site was exposed to the hazards. In total, ALJ Home Improvement was cited for nine willful and three serious violations.

Since 2019, OSHA has inspected ALJ Home Improvement six times at multiple work sites in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut region, issuing 21 violations and levying $299,425 in fines, the agency said. The infractions include multiple willful fall protection and eye protection violations, cited most recently in December 2021.

By law, residential construction employers generally must protect workers against falls with guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems when they work six feet or more above lower levels, as well as provide personal protective equipment to protect against bodily injury.

“ALJ Home Improvement continues to ignore the law and callously exposes its employees to falls from elevation, the construction industry’s deadliest hazard,” OSHA Regional Administrator Richard Mendelson in New York said. “Their repeated willful violations are evidence of an indefensible and inexcusable pattern of disregard for the safety of their employees. OSHA will continue to take strong enforcement actions against such employers.”

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ALJ's options

Falls are the leading cause of death in construction work in the U.S., accounting for 320 deaths out of 1,008 construction fatalities in 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

The labor department stated ALJ has 15 business days to respond to the citations. The employer’s options include:

  • Meeting with the OSHA area director in Tarrytown to discuss the citations, present any pertinent information and see if the case can be settled (violations corrected, penalties paid, compliance agreed to) at the local level. If that occurs, it’s known as an informal settlement.

  • Contesting the citations and penalties to the independent OSHA Review Commission. In that case, the employer would file a contest notice with OSHA. OSHA would forward the contest notice to the commission, which would assign the case to an administrative law judge. The Labor Department and the employer would seek to resolve the matter. If the parties reach an agreement it is known as a formal settlement.

  • If those efforts do not succeed, the judge could hold a hearing and render a decision, which could be appealed by either party.

  • If the employer does not respond at all, the citations and penalties would become final upon the expiration of the 15 business day response period. In such a case, the employer forfeits any appeal rights.

Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.

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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rockland contractor faces $1.3M fine after worker's death