Federal safety officials have cited RRC Home Improvement Inc., a Newark-based construction contractor, for exposing workers to fall hazards at three worksites in North Jersey within a month, leading to $328,545 in proposed penalties. The company has also been added to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Severe Violators Enforcement Program.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspected an RRC Home Improvement site in Dover in June 2024 after receiving reports of workers on a roof without fall protection. Despite being warned about the hazards, inspectors observed similar violations at two Lodi worksites in July 2024. Workers were again found working without required fall protection, and additional safety lapses included the absence of hard hats, eye protection, and fire extinguishers, as well as unsafe ladder use and non-compliant scaffold poles.
OSHA issued citations for four willful and seven serious violations, marking a pattern of repeated noncompliance by the company. Since 2017, RRC Home Improvement has been cited five times for failing to provide fall protection, prompting its inclusion in OSHA’s Severe Violators list.
“Failing to provide and use fall protection when working at elevation is a disaster waiting to happen,” said OSHA Area Director Lisa Levy in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. “Despite being cited multiple times since 2017, RRC Home Improvement continues to disregard critical safety standards, putting workers at grave risk. Falls remain the leading cause of fatalities and serious injuries in the construction industry, making this repeated negligence unacceptable.”
The company, which provides roofing services across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, has 15 business days to respond to the citations. It may choose to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Falls are the leading cause of workplace fatalities in the construction industry, and OSHA has identified fall protection as a key focus of its enforcement and education efforts.