Granite & Marble Services to pay $13K penalty, agrees to enhanced safety measures

The U.S. Department of Labor reached a settlement agreement with Granite & Marble Services LLC, a New Jersey contractor, following the fatal fall of a worker at a Bayonne worksite in October 2023.

The settlement comes after an inspection by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was prompted by the Bayonne Police Department’s report of the incident.

The investigation revealed that a 39-year-old worker fell from the fifth level of a multi-unit residential building under construction. The worker had stepped onto an elevated platform to unload materials when the platform, inadequately secured, tipped over.

OSHA inspectors found that Granite & Marble Services LLC had failed to fully secure the work platform, prevent it from being dislodged from a telehandler’s forks, provide legally required fall protection, and obtain prior written approval from the telehandler’s manufacturer for the platform’s use.

These failures resulted in OSHA citing the contractor for four serious violations.

Following the issuance of citations on April 25, 2024, Granite & Marble Services LLC sought an informal conference with OSHA’s area director.

The resulting settlement agreement affirms the four serious violations and mandates that the company pay a $13,500 penalty. Furthermore, the company must implement enhanced abatement measures and develop comprehensive safety and fall protection plans.

“While this settlement cannot reverse the preventable loss of life, it goes a long way to ensure that Granite & Marble Services LLC will abate hazards and implement safety measures to stop another tragedy,” said OSHA Area Director Joseph Czapik in Parsippany, New Jersey. “Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, which is why industry employers must protect their workers from clearly deadly hazards to ensure a safe workplace.”

OSHA’s investigation into the fatality also led to an inspection of ARC NJ LLC, operating as ARC Building Partners LLC, the general contractor at the Bayonne site. OSHA cited ARC NJ LLC for two serious violations due to their failure to secure the platform to the forklift and for not obtaining the manufacturer’s written approval before using the work platform with the telehandler. The proposed penalties for ARC NJ LLC total $22,584. The company has contested these citations to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 1,069 construction workers died on the job in 2022, with 395 of these deaths resulting from falls from elevation.

OSHA provides various resources, including its stop falls website, which offers safety information and video presentations in both English and Spanish to educate workers on fall hazards and safety procedures. The agency also provides compliance assistance resources on protecting roofing workers and recommendations for developing robust safety and health programs.