Oregon OSHA has fined Beaverton-based ATC Construction LLC $42,520 for violating multiple job safety standards during a residential roofing project. The willful violation of allowing workers’ exposure to potential falls that could seriously injure or kill them was a repeat offense.

The citation resulted from an inspection Oregon OSHA launched in response to a complaint about work at a Tigard multistory house where ATC Construction was a subcontractor. The inspection found that over the course of two days no fall protection was used against potential falls to the ground of at least 10 feet while workers were in plain view of ATC Construction’s on-site supervisor and owner. In one instance, an employee was allowed to wear a fall protection harness that the employer knew was not connected to the personal fall arrest system, according to the Oregon OSHA inspection.

This was the second time since September 2021 that ATC Construction violated the same fall protection standard, Oregon OSHA stated.

“Getting the job done and following clear and time-tested safety standards are not mutually exclusive activities,” Oregon OSHA administrator Renee Stapleton stated in a press release. “Employees have a right to a safe workplace, and employers must provide it. That includes making sure fall protection systems are in place and in use when employees are expected to work at heights. Knowingly allowing employees to perform such work with no safeguards is indefensible.”

In addition to the $40,625 penalty for failure to implement a fall protection system when employees are exposed to a potential fall of 6 feet or more, ATC Construction was fined: $185 for failure to protect employees from tripping in, or stepping into or through skylights, $935 for use of a ladder to reach a roof without at least three feet of side-rail extended past the upper landing, $375 for failure to provide workers appropriate eye or face protection during work involving a nail gun (a repeat violation), $200 for failure to prepare a written record of fall protection training for workers (a repeat violation), and $200 for failure to document, make available and keep for three years a written record of certain safety meetings (a repeat violation).

Under Oregon OSHA’s rules, penalties multiply when employers commit repeat offenses. The citation given to ATC Construction included a standard penalty reduction based on the company’s small size.

A voicemail left with ATC Construction requesting comment on the citation was not immediately returned. The company is eligible to appeal within 30 days of receiving the citation.

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