Ronkonkoma-based Painting and Decorating Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 20 alleged violations of safety hazards.
The citations come with $147,200 in proposed fines.
Among the willful, serious and repeat violations cited were failures to provide guardrails or fall protection while working on a scaffold, adequate planking, a competent person to oversee the work, employee training, base plates and an access ladder. The company also failed to inspect scaffolds for defects and provide fall protection for employees working 6 feet above a lower level, according to OSHA records.
Serious violations included failure to maintain a power tool in a safe condition, install a guard on a saw table, follow equipment use instructions, maintain electric cords, lay platforms on scaffolds correctly when the scaffold changes direction, tie in a scaffold four or more tiers high and have handrails on stairways.
Serious violations are issued when death or serious injury is likely to result from the hazard that the employer knew or should have known about, according to OSHA regulations.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to contest them before an independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. It has already filed a formal contest notice.
