Some contractors entice clients with a cheaper price tag by working without investing in the appropriate protective gear and working on the weekend.
As is the case with most government agencies, OSHA inspectors don’t work on the weekends, so these contractors think weekend shifts can help them avoid fines. But one reader of remodeling coach Mark Paskell’s blog The Contractor Coaching Partnership demonstrated that just because OSHA inspectors aren’t on duty, it doesn’t mean cheating contractors can get away with anything.
The reader submitted pictures of a jobsite in West Boylston, Mass., where roofing crews were working without harnesses and safety protection on a weekend. “It is unfair that there is no level playing field out there,” says the reader, a contractor who adds the cost of protection gear and training for his employees to the price tag of his services.
He adds: “These are the types of projects where people get hurt or killed causing OSHA to continue to focus on residential contractors; These are the guys who come and go taking food [off] the table from guys who operate legally."