OSHA Fines Florida Construction Firm

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Macs Construction & Concrete Inc., Boca Raton, Fla., with a “willful” violation of safety regulations in connection with a July 2004 condominium collapse in which two construction workers were killed, according to a report in the Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.).

The agency also fined the company a total of $79,200.

The OSHA report cites three specific safety violations, including two for inadequate bracing of forms into which concrete was being poured, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

The third citation was for Macs Construction & Concrete’s failure to install safety guardrails on the upper floors of the project.

In addition to the OSHA findings, the company has also been fined $2.4 million in civil penalties by the state of Florida for failing to provide workers compensation insurance, according to the paper.

The company was shut down by the state and is named in lawsuits filed by attorneys for the workers and their families.

“This is an incident that could have been prevented,” Luis Santiago, area director of OSHA says. “But sometimes safety takes a back seat to other alleged priorities, and workers’ safety is jeopardized.”