OSHA Cites Fla. Contractor for Safety Hazards

The U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited G & C Site Development for reportedly exposing workers to trenching hazards at a Jacksonville, Florida work site. The agency is proposing penalties totaling $44,450.

An inspection was initiated April 14 after OSHA was notified of unsafe conditions at the work site near Baymeadows Road and Interstate 9A.

The company received two willful citations, with total proposed penalties of $44,000, for not adequately sloping the sides of the trench and for allowing excavated material to accumulate too near its edge. A willful citation results when an employer has shown an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.

OSHA also issued one serious citation, with a proposed penalty of $450, for exposing employees to fall hazards from a ladder too short for workers to safely enter and exit the 11-foot-deep trench. A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and that the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.

The Jacksonville Beach-based company has 15 working days to contest the recent citations and proposed penalties before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.