OSHA Cites Atlanta Area Company for Worker Safety Hazards at Job Site

The U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited the owner of Maria Isabel Villanueva, and proposed a $42,000 penalty, for exposing workers to fall hazards at an Alpharetta, Georgia apartment complex where the company is renovating buildings.

“Falls are a leading cause of construction worker deaths and serious injuries in the Southeast,” said Andre Richards, OSHA’s Atlanta-West area director. “These accidents are preventable.”

In August, an OSHA inspector reportedly observed employees at the Rockberry Lane job site installing siding to the chimneys of two buildings, approximately 20 feet above ground level, with no fall protection. The company received one willful citation, with a proposed penalty of $42,000, for exposing workers to fall hazards.

OSHA issues a willful citation when an employer has shown an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.

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