Maine roofing company faces $501K in fines for safety hazards in Hampden
A Maine roofing and siding contractor faces $501,000 in penalties for refusing to provide fall-protection and other safeguards for employees at a Hampden residential construction site.
The company, A.R.P. Roofing & Siding LLC, “willfully exposed its employees to fall hazards,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The company is owned by Andrew Raymond Pollock and operates as a single entity with Medford, New Jersey-based ARP Renovation LLC. Pollock could not be immediately reached for comment.
OSHA responded last year to reports of workers being exposed to fall hazards while working on the roofs of Oak Knoll Village Condos on Victoria Way. Inspectors found that at least five employees risked falls of as much as 18 feet to the ground and pavement below.
Federal regulations require that employers provide fall protection to employees engaged in residential construction at 6 feet or more above a lower level.
OSHA repeatedly informed Pollock of the fall protection requirement. After his continued refusal to correct this hazard, OSHA took the rare step of posting an imminent danger notice at the site, the agency said. It cited Pollock’s companies for three egregious willful violations for not providing guardrails, safety nets, personal fall arrest systems or other safeguards.
The willful citations account for $435,081 of the total proposed penalties. OSHA also cited the employer for five serious violations and one other-than-serious violation, carrying $66,295 in proposed penalties, for not providing employees with a training program about fall hazards, ensuring employees wore head protection and other issues.
“Every employee working without fall protection at the Hampden job site was exposed to potentially deadly or disabling falls, despite Mr. Pollock’s knowledge that this safeguard was required and necessary,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Galen Blanton in Boston.
Falls are the leading cause of death in construction work in the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. In 2020, falls accounted for more than one-third of all construction fatalities nationwide.
“These fatalities can be prevented if employers follow safety standards to protect their workers from known hazards,” Blanton said.
OSHA previously cited the employer for fall-related hazards at New Jersey work sites in 2014 and 2021.
Pollock’s companies have 15 business days from receipt of their citations and 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.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees.
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