DOL Fines Contractor for Fall, Drowning Hazards

The U.S. Department of Labor fined a Florida painting contractor $877,220 for safety violations following an investigation into a worker's drowning death. Jose Garcia Hernandez, 55, fell into a river and drowned on April 7 while removing scaffolding from the southbound Interstate 95 bridge over the Ogeechee River in Georgia. The Labor Department said his employer, Seminole Equipment Inc., failed to ensure that its employees used fall protection and wore life jackets while working on the bridge section of the project. Seminole was cited for five willful violations and three serious v...