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For the seventh time in the past year, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division has cited a Woodburn-based contractor for not protecting its employees against falls.

The contractor, Bravo’s Construction Services, was fined $72,825 after an Oct. 9 inspection found unprotected employees working at heights of 20 feet and greater at a home in Northeast Portland.

According to Oregon administrative rules, employers must protect employees from falls when working at heights of 10 feet or more. The typical penalty for a first-time violation ranges from $400 to $1,000 for a small employer and increases with each repeat violation.

Including the latest penalty, Bravo’s Construction owes $166,161 for its violations, according to OSHA. It also cited Bravo’s Construction for not ensuring employees wore safety glasses and not holding safety committee meetings.

“It’s really disturbing that we continue to have this level of problem with this company,” said Melanie Mesaros, an OSHA spokeswoman. “They were not following the rules. You have to protect folks from falling.”

Additionally, the contractor’s license was suspended Jan. 3 by the state Construction Contractors Board for not paying a $1,000 penalty issued in July 2013. The penalty was issued because Bravo’s Construction accepted payments from three unlicensed contractors in exchange for using its CCB license number to get jobs.

In instances occurring in McMinnville, Dundee and Keizer, unlicensed individuals used the Bravo’s Construction CCB number to get a job, and then paid the company between 28 percent and 30 percent of the payment they received for doing the jobs, according to the CCB. That amounted to about $2,250 in two of the three jobs, according to the civil penalty.

The registered owner of Bravo’s Construction, Carlos Lopez-Bravo, could not be reached for comment.

Potentially, if the company fails to pay the amount it owes state agencies, it could be served an injunction and be prohibited from working in the Oregon, said Gina Fox, policy analyst and spokeswoman at CCB.

The injunction would be ordered by the Oregon Department of Justice, which could potentially take the case after review by state agencies, she said.

“This is unusual,” Fox said. “We are hoping this will boost consumers to start checking licenses.”

To search a contractor’s license records, visit or call 503-378-4621.