Contractor Hit with $287K in Fines for Repeated Fall Hazard Exposure

Ill. contractor fined after exposing workers to potentially deadly fall risks 3 times in less than a month

An Illinois contractor faces $287K in fines for repeatedly flouting OSHA safety rules. — 595 Construction LLC, based in Crystal Lake, Ill., has been fined $287K for repeatedly flouting safety rules for workers. Inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration observed field crews working in unsafe conditions three times in one month.
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Elburn, Ill., is about 52 miles east of Chicago. Federal inspectors have cited 595 Construction LLC, based in Crystal Lake, Ill., about 45 miles northwest of Chicago, for exposing employees to fall hazards, resulting in fines exceeding $250,000. The contractor received eight safety violation citations after employees failed to use required fall protection on three occasions at different residential worksites in the same neighborhood, dating back to May 2024.

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a Nov. 6 news release that investigators first observed 595 Construction employees without legally required equipment on a residential structure in Elburn, a village about 52 miles east of Chicago.

On May 10, investigators said they again witnessed similar violations at the same site and one across the street. Three weeks later, on May 31, OSHA again found employees exposed to fall hazards at a nearby worksite at a third house in the same neighborhood.

The agency cited the company for allowing employees to work at heights over six feet without proper protection and for not certifying training on hazard recognition and fall prevention. Inspectors also found that 595 Construction permitted unsafe ladder use, failed to ensure workers had the necessary certification for operating powered vehicles and used damaged slings for lifting materials.

In all, 595 Construction received one willful violation, four repeat violations, and three serious violations, for which the company faces $287,465 in proposed penalties. These are the latest infractions for a company cited for similar citations for serious and repeat safety failures in 2022 and 2023.

"After OSHA opens an investigation at one worksite, we often find the same contractor has done nothing to correct similar hazards at its other sites and not bothered to make certain to train work crews on complying with federal safety protections," OSHA Area Director Jacob Scott in Naperville, Ill stated. "For several years, 595 Construction has shown a chronic disregard for safe work operations and a willingness to put its employees' lives and well-being at risk."

In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 1,069 construction workers died on the job, with 395 of those deaths resulting from falls from elevation.

"Falls are the leading cause of injuries and deaths for construction workers. There is no excuse for 595 Construction failing to take immediate corrective action," Scott added.

Calls placed to 595 Construction seeking comment went unreturned.

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Bryan Gottlieb is the online editor at Engineering News-Record (ENR).

Gottlieb is a five-time Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism award winner with more than a decade of experience covering business, construction, and community issues. He has worked at Adweek, managed a community newsroom in Santa Monica, Calif., and reported on finance, law, and real estate for the San Diego Daily Transcript. He later served as editor-in-chief of the Detroit Metro Times and was managing editor at Roofing Contractor, where he helped shape national industry coverage.

Gottlieb covers breaking news, large-scale infrastructure projects, new products and business.