OSHA Issues Fines at Tybee Island Work Site

The U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Beachside Realty & Development and Division 9 Contractors for exposing employees to fall hazards at a Tybee Island, Georgia job site. The agency is proposing penalties totaling $107,000.

“Falls are a leading cause of worker deaths in the Southeast,” said John Deifer, OSHA’s Savannah area director. “These accidents can be prevented by reducing employee exposure to fall hazards.”

OSHA began an inspection on March 29, after two employees were reportedly observed working without any fall protection on the third floor of a building under construction at the Beachside Colony Resort, Tybee Island.

Beachside Realty & Development, the controlling contractor, was issued two repeat citations, with proposed penalties of $68,000, for exposing workers to falls from unprotected floor edges and stairways. OSHA issues a repeat citation when an employer has been cited previously for a substantially similar condition.

The company also received a serious citation, with a proposed penalty of $800, for exposing employees to hazards from improperly fitted and inadequately secured temporary stairs and landings.

Division 9 Contractors was also cited, with proposed penalties of $4,200, for exposing workers to the same defective temporary stairs and landings and for failing to have a designated competent person identify fall hazards at the job site.

Additionally, the company received two repeat citations, with proposed penalties of $34,000, for exposing employees to falls from unprotected working and walking surfaces at the three-story building that will eventually house 40 condo units.

The companies have 15 working days to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.