The U.S. Department of Labor and a Newark, N.J. roofing contractor reached a settlement agreement over multiple fall violations the company incurred in the summer of 2024.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued four willful and seven serious violations to RRC Home Improvement Inc. following two inspections. In June 2024, OSHA investigated RRC Home Improvement at a worksite in Dover, N.J., after receiving reports of employees working without fall protection. In July 2024, as part of OSHA’s National Emphasis Program for Falls in Construction, the agency inspected a worksite in Lodi. They again observed RRC Home Improvement employees working without the required fall protection.

They also observed violations related to a lack of hard hats, eye protection and fire extinguishers, non-compliant pump jack scaffold poles and unsafe ladder use.

The settlement agreement between OSHA and RRC Home Improvement affirms the citations issued after the 2024 inspections. The company agreed to pay a $155,000 penalty.

According to the Department of Labor, as part of the settlement, the company agreed to implement enhanced abatement measures. These include reporting all jobsites to OSHA before commencing work and providing OSHA with a written site-specific fall protection plan for the worksite, including certification that all employees have completed a fall protection training course.

OSHA has inspected RRC Home Improvement a total of five times since 2017, four of which emphasized fall protection. Given the willful nature of the fall-related offenses, OSHA added the roofing contractor to its Severe Violators Enforcement Program.