GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — One of the largest roofing contractors in the U.S. and a subcontractor face up to a total of $147,998 in penalties after an OSHA inspection found employees were exposed to dangerous fall hazards at a Colorado job site.

Lee’s Summit, Mo.-based Aspen Contracting and subcontractor J Cuellar LLC of West Bend, Wisc. exposed employees to dangerous fall hazards at the site in Fountain, Colo., the agency said in a release.

OSHA said that during a July 2018 inspection, inspectors observed employees of J Cuellar LLC — a subcontractor for Aspen — reroofing a home without fall protection.

J Cuellar now faces a penalty of up to $6,467 for exposing workers to potentially falling from heights ranging from nine to more than 18 feet while performing residential roofing activities.

Aspen Contracting faces a penalty of up to $141,531, including $12,195 for the same infraction.

The remainder of the proposed penalty ($129,336) stems from Aspen Contracting being cited by OSHA for repeatedly failing to protect workers from fall hazards, and for failing to conduct frequent and regular inspections of its job sites.

In addition to the July 2018 inspection, the citation notes Aspen Contracting failed to protect workers from fall hazards five other times since 2014. Specifically, the agency notes Aspect was cited:

  • Feb. 22, 2018, for a job site at Papillion, Neb.
  • Dec. 8, 2017, for a site in Milford, Mass.
  • March 1, 2017, for a site in Colorado Springs, Colo.
  • Feb. 10, 2015, for a site in Centennial, Colo.
  • Oct. 10, 2014, for a site in Kansas City, Mo.

Aspen Contracting was no. 15 on RC’s 2018 Top 100 Roofing Contractors List with reported revenue of about $88.4 million.

The company did not respond to a request for comment on the latest OSHA citations.

“Fall hazards are well-known in the roofing industry and these employers should have taken the proper steps to protect their employees,” said OSHA Area Director David Nelson, in Greenwood Village, Colo.

In December, OSHA said "fall protection" was atop its list of most frequent citations in 2018.

The companies have until Jan. 10 to abate the problems, per the citations.