HOUSTON — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is citing a Texas-based roofing contractor regarding the death of a 21-year-old roofing worker who fell 30 feet at a jobsite.

On Jan. 26, 2022, the roofing worker suffered fatal injuries after falling about 30 feet through a skylight atop a Houston building. Inspectors with OSHA determined Shielder Ventures LLC – which operates as D&G Quality Roofing – failed to provide the worker with a personal fall arrest system. According to a release, in November 2021, OSHA issued D&G Quality Roofing a citation for the same violation after an inspection at a work site near Austin.

Based on its findings, OSHA issued citations for two willful violations for failing to provide fall arrest systems and a serious violation for failing to train employees on using the safety equipment properly. D&G Quality Roofing faces proposed penalties totaling $223,341.

“Despite receiving an OSHA citation a month prior for not protecting its workers from falls — the construction industry’s leading cause of fatalities — D&G Quality Roofing ignored its obligation and exposed workers to danger, resulting in a preventable tragedy,” said OSHA Area Director Mhekeba Hager in Houston. “Had this young worker’s employer required the use of a personal fall arrest system, a family would not be grieving this terrible loss.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 351 of the 1,008 construction workers who died on the job in 2020 were victims of falls from elevation.

Shielder Ventures LLC is a commercial restoration and repair roofing company and employs 12 workers, five of whom were at the work site during the fatal incident.

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.

View the citation here.