Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, OSHA NEWS—$156K settlement after fatal fall; other fall, chemical penalties proposed, (Apr 11, 2025)

By Jonathan Anderson

The worker died while employed by a Missouri roofing contractor. Unrelated employers in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia face a combined $790,647 in proposed penalties for fall and chemical hazards.

A Missouri roofing contractor agreed to pay $156,259 in OSHA penalties for failing to provide workers with required fall protection after a teenage worker died from a fall. In unrelated developments, the federal agency separately cited employers in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia for fall and chemical hazards; these companies face a combined total of $790,647 in penalties.

Fatal fall, child labor. OSHA cited Troyer Construction LLP, dba Troyer Roofing & Coatings, and its owner for exposing workers to fall hazards, with $156,259 in penalties that the employer agreed to pay.

The penalties come after a teenage worker died from a fall in March 2023. OSHA determined that Troyer failed to provide workers with required fall protection, and a separate WHD investigation found that the employer violated the FLSA by employing minors illegally in roofing work from May 2022 to June 2023.

In addition to accepting the OSHA penalties, the employer agreed to pay $15,000 in child labor penalties and $118,741 in criminal fines to the U.S. Department of Justice. The OSHA, child labor, and criminal fines total $290,000. The company must also enroll in Missouri’s On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program.

Fall, safety hazards. In an unrelated development, OSHA cited 3 Guys Home Improvement Inc. for exposing workers to fall and safety hazards at a worksite in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, with $467,000 in proposed penalties.

The agency cited the roofing contractor for two willful violations for lack of fall protection and failure to ensure the use of personal protection equipment. The company also faces 10 serious violations for improper labeling on flammable containers, working near energized power circuits, and improper use of ladders.

OSHA said it added the employer to the Severe Violators Enforcement Program because of the company’s history of violations.

Fatal fall hazards. OSHA cited a roofing contractor in Appleton, Wisconsin, for failing to protect employees atop a residential roof from fatal fall hazards, with $262,174 in proposed penalties.

Following an investigation, the federal agency cited the contractor for two willful violations and one serious violation for failing to provide fall protection equipment, not training workers on fall protection, and not ensuring workers wore hard hats.

OSHA said it has inspected the employer’s work sites 10 times and has cited the contractor previously for similar violations.

Hazardous chemicals. OSHA cited Bio-Lab Inc. for improperly storing hazardous chemicals that caused a fire at a company warehouse, in Conyers, Georgia, with $61,473 in proposed penalties.

The federal agency cited the employer for four serious and two other-than-serious violations.

The employers in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia each have 15 business days from receipt of their citations and proposed 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 (OSHRC).

Companies: Troyer Construction LLP; Troyer Roofing & Coatings; 3 Guys Home Improvement Inc; Bio-Lab Inc.

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