5 of the biggest OSHA fines of Q4 2023

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One builder faces over $1.8 million in initial citations due to the use of updated instance-by-instance rules.

A shadow of a construction worker on a jobsite before a blue background of an OSHA citation.

OSHA often calls attention to cases where inspections result in hefty fines, as a means of highlighting safety best practices.

The largest cases often revolve around residential builders, usually with a documented history of not providing workers with adequate protection from fall hazards. Repeat citations can drive up the overall initial fines, and one citation issued in the fourth quarter of 2023 utilized an updated rule change that elevated the cost by issuing a citation each instance where there was a violation.

Companies often contest the fines and negotiate with the agency to reduce their cost.

Here are some of the largest initial fines announced by OSHA in the fourth quarter of 2023:

Wagner Construction Inc.
Fines: $1,862,284
Status: Contested

OSHA announced severe fines for a Minnesota water and sewer contractor after it settled repeated citations at North Dakota jobsites in 2019 and 2020.

The agency gave International Falls-based Wagner Construction a fine of over $1.8 million for allegedly failing to protect workers in trenches. After an inspection of a Minot, North Dakota, jobsite in June, OSHA cited Wagner Construction with six instance-by-instance repeat violations for exposing workers to cave-in hazards due to a lack of adequate protective systems. Additionally, the company faces five other instance-by-instance repeat violations for not providing a safe means to exit and enter the excavations.

A rule change in March 2023 expanded OSHA’s use of instance-by-instance citations. The fines, which increase with every worker exposed to a hazard, provide the agency with extra firepower in citing workers. The rule was updated to help OSHA cite especially egregious contractors.

Because Wagner settled with the Department of Labor in 2021 and promised to protect employees better, OSHA applied the instance-by-instance rule. Repeat citations also carry a heavier pricetag.

The company also failed to move soil piles at least 2 feet away from the excavation edge at least twice and failed to provide workers with head protection at least three times, OSHA said.

Wagner is contesting the fines. Construction Dive reached out to the contractor but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Elite Roofing Services Inc.
Fines: $522,527
Status: Contested

A federal OSHA inspection found that a Huntington, New York, roofing contractor could have prevented a worker’s fatal fall in April 2023 at a Glen Cove, New York, jobsite.

The agency said Elite Roofing Services did not provide workers with fall protections, like guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems. Employees were installing a metal deck on a flat roof when a worker fell 20 feet to a concrete floor below. The work was under OSHA’s steel erection standard.

OSHA’s citations included six willful violations — one for each worker exposed to fall hazards — and one serious violation for not training the workers on proper fall protection. Initial fines totalled $522,527, but the company contested the fines in early November.

Construction Dive could not locate contact information for Elite Roofing Services.

Emanuel Enterprises LLC and ICI Construction Inc.
Fines: $315,643 total
Status: Contested (Emanuel Enterprises)

A federal OSHA investigation into a June roof collapse at a Friendswood, Texas, high school project that killed one worker and injured three others found two Houston contractors failed to complete an engineering survey before demolition.

ICI Construction, the general contractor, and Emanuel Enterprises, the demolition contractor, failed to complete a survey, OSHA alleged, allowing demolition to continue even after hazards became apparent. OSHA claims the companies directed employees to continue work under the structure that would ultimately collapse on them.

The agency cited both companies for ignoring the federally required survey, and also cited Emanuel Enterprises for three serious violations for failing to protect workers from silica exposure.

ICI Construction faces $140,633 in initial fines for its one citation, while Emanuel Enterprises’ citations totaled $175,010. The latter is contesting the fines.

Both companies declined Construction Dive’s request for comment.

Elmer Miller
Fines: $278,452 total
Status: Contested

On two occasions, one month apart, inspectors discovered workers on an Illinois roofing contractor’s jobsites working at heights without any fall protection, OSHA said in a release.

The agency said employees of Elmer Miller, operating as Miller Building Systems LLC, worked at heights above 18 feet while framing homes on June 26 and again on July 26 at a Savoy, Illinois, subdivision project.

Miller faces one serious and one willful violation for the June occurrence, with initial fines reaching $90,853, and three serious and two willful violations for July, with initial fines totaling $187,599. The company is contesting both fines.

OSHA said it has cited Miller and companies he operates 20 times in the last 10 years, assessing over $900,000 in penalties, most of which have remained unpaid. The violations largely stem from failures to protect workers from fall hazards while performing roofing work, the agency said.

Construction Dive could not locate contact information for Elmer Miller or Miller Building Systems.

John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete Inc.
Fines: $200,905
Status: Contested

A federal OSHA investigation found an East Freetown, Massachusetts, concrete contractor didn’t follow required regulations when an employee suffered fatal injuries on Sept. 6, 2023.

The agency said John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete Inc. instructed an employee to remove a soil screen on a conveyor. The worker was crushed between the conveyor and its frame because the company had not ensured the conveyor’s power source was disabled to prevent an unintended startup while the employee performed maintenance.

As a result, the contractor — operating as Oliveira Brothers — faces $200,905 in citations across six violations: three willful, two serious and one other-than serious. Oliveira Brothers is contesting the fines.

Construction Dive could not reach the company for comment.