Contractor Faces $191K Fine for Scaffold Hazards

Thursday, October 19, 2017 | 0

The owner of a New Jersey construction company has been cited for exposing workers to alleged hazards at a Philadelphia job site, including allowing employees to work on a scaffold that was too close to power lines.

The owner, Vyacheslav Leshko, faces $191,215 in proposed penalties from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA last month issued citations to Leshko for eight repeat and two serious violations.

Responding to a complaint of unsafe working conditions, OSHA inspectors in March found employees performing masonry and bricklaying while on a scaffold that was dangerously close to power lines, the agency said. Bricklayers were on a scaffold about 18 feet above ground that was not resting on a stable surface, according to the citations.

The citations allege that workers were exposed to fall and electrical hazards, were not trained on scaffold hazards and were not provided with hard hats. In addition, the company failed to develop and implement an accident-prevention program, OSHA said.

According to OSHA, Leshko was cited in 2014 for similar violations by another company he owned, T&S Masonry.