2 roofing companies working in Pierce County fined for unsafe working conditions
Two businesses working in Pierce County are among four roofing companies in the state facing fines for repeatedly putting workers at risk of dangerous falls, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries announced Wednesday.
The department cited Mukilteo business America 1st Roofing as the largest violator, having been cited Aug. 5 for seven safety violations in Bonney Lake. Home Build Construction in University Place is facing fines for not using fall protection, among other violations at a site in Steilacoom. Roofers with sites in Kent and Wenatchee also were named in the announcement.
The fines against the four roofing companies total more than half a million dollars.
“Not only did these companies knowingly put their workers at risk, they’ve been caught breaking the same rules before,” said Craig Blackwood, acting assistant director of the department’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
Safety violations at America 1st Roofing from Aug. 5 included workers not wearing eye protection while using a nail gun, workers not using fall protection and not having a fall protection plan for specific worksites. According to a news release, the business has received 21 citations since 1998, 14 of which were repeat, serious violations.
America 1st Roofing was also cited for not reporting an incident in March when a roofer fell 18 feet from a two-story building in Olympia. The worker was hospitalized for his injuries.
CEO of America 1st Roofing John Herzog disputed the claim that his company did not report the fall. He said he was personally in contact with the Department of Labor & Industries’ investigator “promptly after the event.”
In a phone call with The News Tribune, Herzog defended his company’s safety record.
“The company’s 25-year safety history should be viewed from the perspective of having installed 150,000 roofing and siding jobs during that time period,” he said. “Statistically speaking, the company has a single citation for every 6,000 jobs they’ve worked on over the course of 25 years and is constantly striving to improve upon the company’s safety performance.”
Blackwood said repeated violations at America 1st Roofing show the firm is ignoring the rules to save time and money.
“Falls are the most common cause of deaths in construction,” Blackwood said in the release.” A large number of violations like this over an extended period of time can only mean one thing — America’s 1st is not concerned about the health and safety of its workers.”
The company faces a fine of $168,039 for violations over the past three months. It has until Oct. 25 to appeal the citation.
Home Build Construction in University Place appealed its violations. It faces a fine of $131,400. It was cited Sept. 8 for not using fall protection or eye protection at a site in Steilacoom. It was also cited for improper use of a ladder among other safety violations.
The company is part of the department’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, a directive that focuses enforcement efforts on employers who continually disregard their legal obligations to protect their workers.
Billy Trinh, owner of Home Build Construction, said his business is a small general construction company with only two employees. He claimed no one has been hurt on the company’s job sites in the six years he has been in business.
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 1:41 PM.
