b'(continued from Page6)use of powered industrial vehicles and ensure the use of head, face and eye protection, and allowed workers to use ladders improperly.OSHA opened the February inspection just three months after the agency observed workers ofEmerald Inc. exposed to dangerous fall hazards at a job site in Park Ridge on Nov. 8, 2021. The com-pany contested the citations issued by OSHA in May 2022, following the November inspection. Emerald Inc. currently owes OSHA $390,214, in affirmed unpaid penalties from seven previousinspections. The company has not responded to OSHA citations issued in 2018, 2020 and 2021. A total of $160,422 in unpaid penalties have been referred for debt collection."Emerald Inc. continues to expose its workers to the construction industry\'s leading cause of work-place deaths and the potential for serious injuries, debilitation or worse," explained OSHA Chicago North Area Director Angeline Loftus in Arlington Heights, Illinois. "This company\'s willingness to gamble with its workers\' lives will not be tolerat-ed. OSHA will hold employers accountable for failing in their legal responsibility to provide safe working conditions."In late 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics report-ed that 351 of the 1,008 construction workers who died on the job were deaths related to falls from elevation.OSHA\'s stop falls website offers safety infor-mation and video presentations in English and Spanish to teach workers about hazards and proper safety procedures. Learn more about OSHA\'sannual National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls.The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with each of OSHA\'s area directors, or contest the findings before theindependent Occupational Safety and HealthReview Commission. 22'