Region 5 News Release: 11-570-CHI
May 3, 2011
Contact: Scott Allen Rhonda Burke
Phone: 312-353-6976 312-353-4807
Email: allen.scott@dol.gov burke.rhonda@dol.gov

US Department of Labor's OSHA cites J.P. Phillips of
Franklin Park, Ill., for exposing workers to fall hazards

FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited J.P. Phillips Inc. of Franklin Park for five safety violations after workers were observed working at heights greater than 6 feet without fall protection during a February job site inspection in Crete. The company faces penalties totaling $75,900.

"Falls are a leading cause of injury and death in the construction industry," said Gary Anderson, OSHA's area director in Calumet City. "Employers are responsible for knowing what hazards exist in their workplaces and ensuring that workers are not exposed to unnecessary risks. OSHA has been protecting workers for 40 years, and we remain committed to ensuring their safety, especially when employers fail to do so."

Three repeat violations include failing to provide access ladders, fully plank a work platform and have guardrails installed on scaffolding more than 10 feet high. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The company has been inspected by OSHA nine times since July 2006. Seven of those inspections resulted in citations for 15 serious and repeat violations related to scaffolding hazards.

Two serious violations include a lack of hard hats and general fall protection. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection, such as guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems, be in use when workers perform construction work from a scaffold 10 feet or more above the next lower level. Detailed information on fall protection hazards and safeguards is available online at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/index.html.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Employers and employees with questions regarding workplace safety and health standards can call OSHA's Calumet City Area Office at 708-891-3800. To report workplace incidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, call the agency's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742).

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov

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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at http://www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.