WENTZVILLE, Mo. – A Missouri-based contractor faces $258,000 in fines over workplace safety violations and a pattern of fall hazards in Wentzville.

Federal workplace safety inspectors have cited 13 Construction & Pro Services LLC with  21 violations for illegally exposing roof workers to the dangers of fall hazards.

The U.S. Department of Labor says that these hazards were apparent at six Wentzville residential worksites, including five times over a matter of seven weeks.

The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) alleges that the company allowed employees to work without protection equipment at heights greater than six feet.

OSHA also accuses 13 Construction & Pro Services LLC of not having a competent person evaluate job site hazards daily and failing to train workers to recognize hazards or prevent falls. 

Investigations also revealed instances in which workers did not use head or eye protection and used ladders unsafely. These offenses, among others, reportedly happened from October to December 2023.

“Far too often, we find that after OSHA has opened an investigation at one worksite, the same contractor will do nothing to correct similar hazards at its other sites or bother to train and make sure its work crews follow federal safety procedures,” explained OSHA Area Director Bill McDonald in St. Louis. “Had 13 Construction & Pro Services been a responsible employer, they would immediately have reviewed their company’s safety and health procedures to make sure employees at all of its worksites were working safely.”

OSHA says fall hazards are the construction industry’s leading cause of serious injuries and death. In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 1,069 construction workers died on the job. Of those deaths, 395 were related to falls from elevation. 

13 Construction & Pro Services LLC contested the citations and will appear before an independent safety commission, according to OSHA.