The state Department of Labor & Industries on Friday hit a Battle Ground contractor with a $135,800 fine for alleged safety violations.
The department cited Olympic Siding Inc. for four repeat-serious violations and four serious violations, all related to “workplace safety violations involving fall hazards,” according to an L&I press release.
Three repeat penalties each carry a $33,600 fine for unsafe use of a ladder and no fall protection for employees on a roof or scaffold.
L&I compliance officers in January observed two workers on a Vancouver roof without fall protection, according to the release. The fourth alleged repeat violation, for not ensuring employees use eye protection when using power tools, carries a $21,000 fine.
The other penalties stem from reportedly not requiring hard hats, unsafe scaffold exit, improper use of a ladder and an improper written accident prevention program.
Olympic Siding has appealed the findings.
It’s the seventh time in four years the company has been cited for safety violations involving fall hazards. L&I now considers Olympic Siding a “severe violator,” and it will be under closer scrutiny “to determine if the conditions still exist in the future.”
Three construction workers have fallen to their deaths in Washington state this year, according to L&I, most recently last week in Issaquah.
“Falls from ladders, roofs and other elevated work spaces are the leading cause of construction worker fatalities and hospitalizations,” according to the press release. “Last year, six construction workers died from falls, the highest number since 2006.”
