A Van Buren County roofing contractor is one of 20 Michigan employers hit with workplace safety violations for not following pandemic protocols in the latest round of citations from the Michigan Occupational Safety & Health Administration — MIOSHA.
As the state continues to prioritize worker safety and health, MIOSHA inspected and issued COVID-19 emergency rule or general duty citations to twenty different workplaces with violations for failing to protect workers and take safety precautions. One of them is a Covert contractor, Sid’s Professional Roofing & More, LLC who has been fined $8,200 for the violations as shown in the list below under General Duty Citations.
Under MIOSHA’s Emergency Rules, businesses that resume in-person work must, among other things, have a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and provide thorough training to their employees that covers, at a minimum, workplace infection-control practices, the proper use of personal protection equipment (PPE), and steps workers must take to notify the business or operation of any symptoms of COVID-19 or a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. An emergency rule citation carries a fine of up to $7,000.
The MIOSHA general duty clause requires an employer to provide a workplace that is free from recognized hazards that are causing, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to the employee. A general duty clause citation carries a fine of up to $7,000.
On-site inspections conducted by MIOSHA’s general industry and construction industry enforcement divisions determined ten employers allegedly committed violations by failing to implement necessary precautions to protect employees from contracting COVID-19. Deficiencies included a lack of health screenings, face coverings, employee training, and overall preparedness plans.
The cited employers have 15 working days from receipt of the MIOSHA citations to contest the violations and penalties. Employers must provide proof to MIOSHA that abatement has been completed.
A cited employer may choose to enter into a Penalty Reduction Agreement with MIOSHA and agree to abate noted hazards by the abatement date provided within the citation and will receive a 50-percent reduction in penalties. By entering into the Agreement an employer must also agree to not seek an appeal.
The latest MIOSHA citations were issued to the below companies for the stated issues:
COVID-19 Emergency Rules Citations
- Kortman Masonry, Inc. of Grandville, was fined $1,000 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements for not having a COVID-19 preparedness and response plan, not conducting a daily entry self-screening of employees and not having employees maintain 6 feet of distance where possible. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, is $2,000. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- Orchard Hill Mechanical, Inc. of Casnovia, was fined $1,000 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements for lack of a preparedness and response plan and not wearing face coverings. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, were $1,400. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- Artistic Decorating, Inc. of Flint, was cited for an other-than-serious violation of MIOSHA COVID-19 Emergency Rules, specifically the lack of a written preparedness and response plan. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, were $1,000. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- F M Carpenters, LLC of Detroit, was cited for an other-than-serious violation of MIOSHA COVID-19 Emergency Rules, specifically the lack of a preparedness and response plan. Total penalties for other workplace violations were $800. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- Corporation DBA D.F. Floor Covering of Flint, was fined $1,000 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements for not developing a preparedness and response plan, not documenting daily health screenings, not requiring face coverings, and no training for COVID-19. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- Victor Carmona Services, LLC of Allendale, was cited for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements for lack of a preparedness and response plan. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, were $1,000. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- National Parts Depot-Michigan in Canton, was fined $4,900 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including not detailing all required measures in a written COVID-19 preparedness and response program, not requiring or enforcing face coverings, not posting signs or other communication for employees and customers regarding COVID-19 symptoms and face covering requirements, not implementing an enhanced cleaning schedule, not implementing plexiglass barriers, not providing COVID-19 training, and not developing or implementing a screening protocol for employees. The inspection was initiated by an employee complaint.
- United Construction Services LLC of Harbor Springs, was cited for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements for not having on site a preparedness and response plan and not documenting daily health screenings. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, were $800. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- JRN Construction Services, LLC of Flint, was cited for an other-than-serious violation of MIOSHA COVID-19 Emergency Rules, specifically the lack of a preparedness and response plan. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, were $800. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- Christian Etheridge State Farm in Temperance, was cited for other-than-serious violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including not documenting their remote-work policy, not performing a health surveillance screening protocol on the day the MIOSHA inspector arrived, and not maintaining documentation for employee training related to COVID-19. The inspection was initiated under the COVID-19 Office SEP.
- House of Pets, Inc. in Westland, was fined $400.00 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including not performing a health screening protocol for employees, not conducting an exposure determination, not developing a written COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan, not posting signs at the store entrance informing customers not to enter if they are or have been sick, and not documenting employee training related to COVID-19. The inspection was initiated in response to an employee complaint.
General Duty Citations:
- Sid’s Professional Roofing & More, LLC of Covert, was fined $2,100 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including lack of a preparedness and response plan, failing to train employees on COVID-19 control strategies, lack of social distancing, and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain six feet of social distancing. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, were $8,200. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- Tri State Development Inc. of Saginaw was fined $1,000 for violations of COVID- 19 workplace safety requirements including lack of a preparedness and response plan, failing to train employees on COVID-19 control strategies, lack of social distancing, and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain six feet of social distancing. Total penalties including other workplace violations were $2,800. The inspection was initiated as a planned program inspection.
- Jose Torres Construction, LLC of Grand Rapids, was fined $2,100 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including lack of a preparedness and response plan, failing to train employees on COVID-19 control strategies, lack of social distancing, and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain six feet of social distancing. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, were $9,000. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- McQuestion & Sons, Inc. of Leroy, was fined $2,800 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including lack of daily entry screening protocol, lack of social distancing, failure to increase cleaning and disinfection, failure to notify health department of an employee with a confirmed case of COVID-19, lack of recordkeeping, and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain six feet of social distancing. The inspection was in response to an employee complaint.
- Country Boy Builder, LLC of Sheridan, was fined $2,100 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including lack of a preparedness and response plan, failing to train employees on COVID-19 control strategies, lack of social distancing, and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain six feet of social distancing. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, were $8,300. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- C&M Exterior, LLC of Kalamazoo, was fined $2,800 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including lack of a preparedness and response plan, failing to train employees on COVID-19 control strategies, lack of social distancing, and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain six feet of social distancing. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, were $6,100. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- Eastbrook Homes Inc. of Grand Rapids, was fined $3,500 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including lack of a preparedness and response plan, failing to train employees on COVID-19 control strategies, lack of social distancing, lack of self-screening protocols for COVID-19, and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain six feet of social distancing. Total penalties, including other workplace violations, were $5,500. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.
- High Point Roofing, LLC of Holton, was fined $2,100 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including lack of a preparedness and response plan, failing to train employees on COVID-19 control strategies, lack of social distancing, and lack of face coverings when workers could not consistently maintain six feet of social distancing. Total penalties including other workplace violations, were$5,300. The inspection was initiated as a planned programmed inspection.
- Michigan Web Press DBA Stafford Media Solutions in Greenville, will be fined $4,200 for violations of COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including the lack of training for employees on the workplace controls for an infectious disease, not enforcing the use of masks, and not routinely cleaning or disinfecting frequently touched surfaces such as wiping down machine control and tools used between employees. Total penalties, including non-COVID citations, is $7,800. The inspection was initiated in response to an employee complaint.
A complete list of MIOSHA COVID-19 workplace safety citations is available online.
Employers and employees alike can visit http://Michigan.gov/COVIDWorkplaceSafety for employee and customer factsheets, educational videos, a sample COVID-19 preparedness and response plan, best practices that employees need to follow and a reopening checklist to help businesses put safeguards in place.
Business owners can request free consultation assistance from MIOSHA’s Consultation Education and Training Division, by going to MIOSHA Request for Consultative Assistance:
https://www.michigan.gov/leo/0,5863,7-336-94422_11407_15317-277525–,00.html
For more information about MIOSHA’s safety and health guidelines to protect Michigan’s workforce during the pandemic, employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health may contact MIOSHA using the new hotline at 855-SAFE-C19 (855-723-3219).
