OSHA gets address wrong on citation
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is accusing a local construction company of safety violations, but got the company's address wrong.

In a press release OSHA officials said the federal entity proposed $146,000 in penalties against A. E. New Jr. Inc. based in Gulf Breeze. Although the company was previously located in Gulf Breeze, representatives for the business said they relocated to Pensacola in 2004. The company's current address is listed on the 2400 block of Executive Plaza Road near Pensacola Junior College in Pensacola. A telephone call to OSHA revealed the agency had the correct street address but the wrong city listed in their records.

"The Gulf Breeze address was our fault, we'll fix that," said OSHA's Jacksonville, Fla. Director James Borders. Inspectors who cited A. E. New Jr. Inc. were based in Jacksonville.

Despite the geographical discrepancy, OSHA inspectors cited the company for eight safety violations found at a school construction site in Milton, Fla. The same press release said the company was cited for three willful safety violations with monetary penalties totaling $132,000. Those infractions included employees working from an improperly erected scaffold, using a makeshift platform and using a forklift to lift them to a roof without proper fall protection equipment.

Inspectors also documented four additional violations that could cost the company $10,000 in fines. Those infractions included employees working on a roof edge without fall protection, using a pallet on a forklift as a working platform, accessing the scaffold in an unsafe manner and allowing debris to accumulate at the worksite.

The company was also cited for employees not wearing hardhats near overhead brick laying operations. The hardhat violation, which could result in a $4,000 fine, was the second such infraction for A. E. New Jr. Inc. in three years. According to OSHA records, the company was fined $700 for the head protection violation and a total of $2,450 for infractions in 2004.

"We look forward to working very closely with OSHA," said Albert "Ned" New Jr., the company's owner. "Safety is very important to us. This situation is certainly not enjoyable but we intend to move ahead."

The company has 15 working days starting Aug. 13 to contest the proposed penalties. Borders said the company has requested an informal conference with the government agency to discusses the alleged infractions.

For more information about OSHA's enforcement standards, visit www.osha.gov.