The Roof Doctor Inc., of Olympia, Washington was recently fined $427,000 for exposing workers to fall hazards without adequate fall protection.
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) cited the company for six “willful” violations, each with the maximum penalty of $70,000. The department’s investigation found that the Roof Doctor exposed six workers to fall hazards from heights as high as 23 feet while roofing a house in Castle Rock last July.
The company was also cited for one serious violation with a penalty of $7,000 for failing to effectively train workers in how to use fall protection systems or equipment. They received a citation for a general violation as well, for not providing fall protection equipment to the workers at no cost after L&I learned that workers were required to pay for their own equipment. General violations typically do not have a penalty.
This is the eighth time since 2012 that the Roof Doctor has been cited for fall protection violations. In 2014, the company was cited for six willful violations and fined $219,600 for the same fall protection hazards. That citation is under appeal.
The Roof Doctor is one of the larger roofing companies in the state, operating in nine counties with more than a hundred employees.
As a result of these violations, the Roof Doctor has been identified as a severe violator and is subject to follow-up inspections to determine if the conditions still exist in the future.
The employer was allowed 15 days to appeal.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: [email protected].
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