Roofing Safety

Ohio Roofing Contractor Given Additional Penalties for Defying Federal Safety Requirements

AKRON, Ohio — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is suggesting an additional $228,126 in fines to $108,318 in unpaid penalties for a Dundee, Ohio contractor for exposing workers to potential deadly fall hazards, this time at an Akron job site.

According to a release, OSHA inspectors observed two employees of Benny Troyer Roofing and Trail Roofing LLC working at heights of up to 20 feet above the ground without adequate fall protection while Troyer was on-site at an Akron home under construction. Inspectors also found the employer allowed workers to use ladders improperly and failed to enforce the use of head, face and eye protection. The inspection on Feb. 28, 2022, identified one repeat safety violation, two willful violations and one serious violation.

The agency cited Benny Troyer Roofing and Trail Roofing LLC for similar violations in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021. More than $108,318 in unpaid federal penalties have been referred for debt collection.

“These concerns are not new for this company. OSHA has explained abatement and safety procedures to Mr. Troyer repeatedly, but he continues to defy federal inspectors and gamble with workers’ lives,” said OSHA Area Director Howard Eberts in Cleveland. “No other cause kills more construction industry workers than falls from elevation. OSHA will hold this employer and others accountable for failing to provide safe working conditions.”

In late 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 351 of the 1,008 construction workers who died on the job were deaths related to falls from elevation.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with each of OSHA’s area directors, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

View the citation here.