OSHA Inspection: AGC, LLC

Issued

Apr 18, 2025

Abate by

May 23, 2025

Penalty

Initial $3,547 · Current $2,500 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(e)(1):General. The employer shall provide a medical evaluation to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator, before the employee is fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace. The employer may discontinue an employee's medical evaluations when the employee is no longer required to use a respirator.  a) On or about March 18, 2025, the employer required employees to wear tight-fitting 3M 8210plus N95 filtering facepiece respirators while cutting vinyl siding, without first providing a medical evaluation to determine their ability to safely use the respirator. As a result, employees were using respirators without confirmation that they were medically fit to do so, potentially exposing them to health risks associated with respirator use, such as restricted breathing or cardiovascular strain.

Issued

Apr 18, 2025

Abate by

May 23, 2025

Penalty

Initial $2,128 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(k): Training and information. This paragraph requires the employer to provide effective training to employees who are required to use respirators. The training must be comprehensive, understandable, and recur annually, and more often if necessary. This paragraph also requires the employer to provide the basic information on respirators in Appendix D of this section to employees who wear respirators when not required by this section or by the employer to do so.  a) On or about March 18, 2025, the employer failed to provide effective training to employees required to wear tight-fitting 3M 8210plus N95 filtering facepiece respirators. No training was conducted to instruct employees on proper respirator use, limitations, maintenance, or procedures for ensuring an effective seal. As a result, employees used respirators without adequate knowledge of their correct use, which may reduce the effectiveness of the protection and increase the risk of improper usage.

Issued

Apr 18, 2025

Abate by

May 23, 2025

Penalty

Initial $4,965 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.20(b)(2): Such programs shall provide for frequent and regular inspections of the job sites, materials, and equipment to be made by competent persons designated by the employers.  a) On or about March 11, 2025, the employer failed to conduct frequent and regular inspections of the jobsite, materials, and equipment. As a result, multiple hazardous conditions were not identified and corrected. These included employees using a 6-foot step ladder with bent spreader bars that had not been removed from service; employees working at heights greater than 25 feet without having received training on fall protection or ladder safety; the use of temporary wooden guardrails on a third-story balcony that were inadequately secured using only two- three nails, failing to meet minimum strength requirements; and employees wearing tight-fitting N95 respirators without a written respiratory protection program in place, and without having received medical evaluations, fit testing, or training on proper respirator use.

Issued

Apr 18, 2025

Abate by

May 23, 2025

Penalty

Initial $4,965 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.503(a)(1):The employer shall provide a training program for each employee who might be exposed to fall hazards. The program shall enable each employee to recognize the hazards of falling and shall train each employee in the procedures to be followed in order to minimize these hazards.  a) On or about March 11, 2025, the employer failed to ensure that each employee exposed to a fall hazard was trained on the hazards of falling and the procedures to minimize the hazards in the work area.  As a result, employees were unprepared to identify or respond to fall risks present in their work environment.

Issued

Apr 18, 2025

Abate by

May 23, 2025

Penalty

Initial $4,965 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.1060(a): The employer shall provide a training program for each employee using ladders and stairways, as necessary. The program shall enable each employee to recognize hazards related to ladders and stairways, and shall train each employee in the procedures to be followed to minimize these hazards.  a) On or about March 11, 2025, the employer did not provide required training to employees using ladders during siding work, including tasks such as caulking seams.  As a result, an untrained employee overreached while working off of a damaged 6 foot step ladder, causing the ladder to shift, and the employee to fall greater than 25 feet off the side of the third story balcony to the ground below.

Issued

Apr 18, 2025

Penalty

Initial $4,965 · Current $2,500 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.502(b)(3): Guardrail systems shall be capable of withstanding, without failure, a force of at least 200 pounds (890 N) applied within 2 inches (5.1 cm) of the top edge, in any outward or downward direction, at any point along the top edge.  a) On or about March 11, 2025, the employer failed to ensure that the guardrail system installed on the third-story balcony of Building 9, Unit 303, was capable of withstanding a force of at least 200 pounds. While applying caulk from a ladder positioned on the balcony, an employee lost balance and struck the top rail, which detached from its supports. The midrail also became partially detached. As a result, the employee fell approximately 25 feet to the ground below, sustaining serious injuries.

Issued

Apr 18, 2025

Abate by

May 23, 2025

Penalty

Initial $398 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(c):Respiratory protection program. This paragraph requires the employer to develop and implement a written respiratory protection program with required worksite-specific procedures and elements for required respirator use. The program must be administered by a suitably trained program administrator. In addition, certain program elements may be required for voluntary use to prevent potential hazards associated with the use of the respirator. The Small Entity Compliance Guide contains criteria for the selection of a program administrator and a sample program that meets the requirements of this paragraph. Copies of the Small Entity Compliance Guide will be available on or about April 8, 1998 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Office of Publications, Room N 3101, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20210 (202-219-4667).  a) On March 18, 2025, the employer failed to ensure that a respiratory protection program was in place prior to requiring employees to wear tight fitting 3M 8210plus N95 filtering facepiece respirators while cutting vinyl siding.  As a result, employees used respirators without the protections afforded by a compliant program, potentially exposing them to hazards associated with improper respirator use, such as restricted breathing, improper fit, or misuse.

Issued

Apr 18, 2025

Abate by

May 23, 2025

Penalty

Initial $398 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(f)(2):The employer shall ensure that an employee using a tight-fitting facepiece respirator is fit tested prior to initial use of the respirator, whenever a different respirator facepiece (size, style, model or make) is used, and at least annually thereafter.  a) On or about March 18, 2025, the employer failed to ensure that employees required to wear tight-fitting 3M 8210plus N95 filtering facepiece respirators were fit tested prior to use. As a result, employees used respirators without verification that the equipment provided adequate protection or fit, potentially reducing the effectiveness of the respirator and exposing them to atmospheric hazards.

Issued

Apr 18, 2025

Abate by

May 23, 2025

Penalty

Initial $398 · Current $0 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1926.1053(b)(15): Ladders shall be inspected by a competent person for visible defects on a periodic basis and after any occurrence that could affect their safe use.  a) On or about March 11, 2025, the employer failed to ensure that ladders were inspected for visible defects prior to use.  A 6-foot Werner step ladder used on the third-story balcony had bent spreaders, compromising its structural integrity. The ladder was not removed from service and was used during siding work without inspection. As a result, an employee was exposed to the hazard of ladder collapse or instability, which can cause loss of balance and a fall.