New Orleans Army Corps Work Offers OSHA Violations

Officials for the US Army Corps of Engineers say contractors they hired to help rebuild New Orleans are violating federal law requiring fall protection for workers on tall structures, and those unnamed contractors could be penalized.

According to an article by Deon Roberts on the New Orleans CityBusiness website, “the discovery of unprotected workers was made by frequent Corps critic and New Orleans resident Matt McBride. McBride posted to his Web site, www.fixthepumps.blogspot.com, photos he said he took Saturday of Corps workers at the 17th Street Canal with unattached harnesses balancing on pipes — a clear violation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules.”

The Corps told Roberts a violation was indeed made. “Based on those photos, there is a safety violation. They should have been wearing the protective harnesses and they weren’t,” Brett Herr, a Corps senior project manager, told Roberts.

OSHA requires employers to ensure safety of their workers with fall protection for people working on tall structures. The Corps requires contractors to submit a safety plan and adhere to it.

Roberts says OSHA has already reviewed work sites for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Corps at the request of those agencies.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/uptotheminute.cfm?recid=7050