Region 5 News Release: 11-65-CHI
Jan. 24, 2011
Contact: Scott Allen Rhonda Burke
Phone: 312-353-6976 312-353-4807
E-mail: allen.scott@dol.gov burke.rhonda@dol.gov

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Sherriff-Goslin Co. of Mansfield,
Ohio, $86,500 for failing to protect roofing workers from fall hazards

MANSFIELD, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited roofing contractor Sherriff-Goslin Co. of Mansfield with one alleged willful and one repeat safety violation for failing to provide fall protection for employees working on a residential roofing project in Sandusky, Ohio. The company faces penalties totaling $86,500.

The citation follows an investigation OSHA conducted Nov. 9, 2010, under the residential construction and fall protection emphasis program. Sherriff-Goslin has been issued one willful citation, with a proposed penalty of $70,000, for failing to provide fall protection on a steep-sloped roof where workers were exposed to a 27-foot fall hazard. A willful violation exists when an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the law or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

"Falls are a leading cause of injury and death in the workplace. Sherriff-Goslin Co. has a history of failing to follow standards to protect workers from fall hazards," said Jule Hovi, OSHA's area director in Toledo, Ohio. "This is unacceptable, and OSHA is committed to ensuring employers abide by safety and health regulations."

Sherriff-Goslin also was has been issued one repeat citation, with a proposed penalty of $16,500, for failing to ensure workers exposed to overhead hazards were wearing proper head protection. OSHA issues a repeat citation if an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The company was cited for lack of head protection in June 2009, as well as a lack of fall protection at jobsites in June 2009, and July, August and September 2010.

OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection, such as guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems, be in use when workers perform residential construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level. Detailed information on fall protection hazards and safeguards is available online at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/index.html.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citation and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health standards can call OSHA's Toledo office at 419-259-7542. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to assure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.