Savoy construction contractor cited by OSHA for safety violations

SAVOY, Ill. (WAND) - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Savoy construction contractor for safety violations again.

Inspectors cited Elmer Miller, operating as Miller Building Systems LLC, for exposing employees to "falls from elevations," as they did residential framing work.

These citations stem from work being done at four subdivisions under construction in Mahomet and Savoy in January, March and May 2024.

Inspectors observed employees of Miller standing, climbing and walking about the trusses and top plates on residential homes sometimes at heights greater than 18 feet above ground level without adequate fall protection.

OSHA alleges when workers did put on fall protection, they were not directed to properly tie it off or secure the body harness, rendering the equipment ineffective.

OSHA observed the violations on the following dates at the following locations:

Jan. 11: Cole Lane in the Hunters Ridge subdivision by Unlimited Homes in Mahomet.
Jan. 26: Airport Road at The Cottages at Lake Falls by Signature Homes in Savoy.
March 13: Sutton Street in the Prairie Meadow subdivision by Signature Homes in Savoy.
May 2: Morningside Lane in the Whisper Meadow subdivision by Unlimited Homes in Mahomet.

The agency cited Miller for four willful violations for intentionally failing to use adequate fall protection, assessing him at $354,912 in proposed penalties.

“By law, workers must use fall protection whenever they work at heights six feet or greater. For that fall protection to be effective, it must be worn correctly, secured and tied off,” said OSHA Area Director Edward Marshall in Peoria, Illinois. “Without legally required safeguards, a slip, trip and fall can determine whether an employee’s shift ends safely, or their life ends tragically.”

OSHA said Miller has an extensive history of exposing workers to the potentially disabling and sometimes deadly hazards associated with falls from elevation.

Since 2019, OSHA has cited the company 17 times, including seven times in 2023, for fall-related violations.

Miller contested the 2023 citations and awaits a hearing before an administrative law judge with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to challenge the violations.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to hold Elmer Miller and other construction contractors accountable for complying with federal regulations that protect people on the job from the most dangerous hazard in the construction industry,” Marshall added.

In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 1,056 construction workers died on the job, with 423 of those fatalities related to falls from elevation, slips or trips.