Coral Springs Contractor Expose Workers to Trenching Hazards

OSHA Proposes $46,750 in Penalties - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited MAJ Contracting, Inc. for exposing workers to trenching hazards at a Venice job site. The agency is proposing $46,750 in penalties.

OSHA began an inspection of the Auburn Road worksite on Jan. 20, after an inspector observed unprotected MAJ employees installing pipes in a trench approximately seven feet deep. According to the inspector, a trench box, which would have protected the workers, stood 50 feet from the excavation. The roadway was undermined, and about four feet of excavated material was piled at the edge of the trench, which had begun to accumulate water.

• "Cave-ins happen quickly and without warning. This employer placed workers at significant risk by failing to take basic precautions against a trench collapse," said Les Grove, OSHA's Tampa area director.

OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations. A serious violation is one in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard.