Judge upholds penalty against roofing firm, owner vows appeal … – The Salem News

WENHAM An administrative law judge has upheld most of the fines leveled against a well-known North Shore roofing company over a 2014 scaffold collapse in Wenham that left one man with a broken neck and at least one other person injured.

The fines were imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as a result of the October 2014 incident at a job site on Parsons Hill Road.

OSHA also concluded that the two companies on the job site, A.C. Castle Roofing and Provencher Home Improvement, were acting as one employer making both liable for the fines, at that point a total of $294,500.

The owners of both A.C. Castle and Provencher appealed to the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Following a three-day trial last year, Judge Sharon Calhoun issued findings in February, which became final last week. The judge upheld most of OSHA's findings, though she did dismiss two of the violations, reducing the penalty to $173,500.

But Brian LeBlanc, the owner of Beverly-based A.C. Castle, vowed on Monday to continue his appeal of the findings, saying they're "totally unfair."

"It's a totally unfair decision and we're going to appeal that," said LeBlanc.

Daryl Provencher, the owner of Provencher Home Improvement, died at the age of 47 last December. He had been representing himself in the appeal. OSHA said in a press release announcing the ruling that due to his death the fines against him were "extinguished."

The accident occurred when a spruce plank being used as part of scaffolding broke, sending at least two workers 20 feet to the ground.

The invoice for the plank specifically stated that it was not intended to be used in scaffolding.

OSHA also concluded that other problems on the site included deficient components in the scaffolding and a lack of roof anchors and tethers for the workers to prevent falls.

The agency, which falls under the Department of Labor, also concluded that the business operations of Castle and Provencher were "highly integrated."

The judge's decision agreed, pointing to evidence such as property owners not being told that Provencher was a subcontractor, Castle paying bills for materials used by Provencher, and management of workers.

LeBlanc disputes all of those conclusions.

"They're trying to say those are my employees," said LeBlanc. "That's not true."

He said Provencher, though a longtime friend, was one of around five subcontractors he'd hired for various jobs in 2014, and that he has copies of checks Provencher paid to him to reimburse for the cost of equipment and supplies.

He also said Provencher had his own workers compensation insurance and had even been cited by OSHA separately in the past.

Asked about the judge's observation that workers on the site were given Castle shirts to wear, LeBlanc said that if anyone on the site had a shirt, it was likely old and not given out specifically to wear that day.

"If one of Daryl's (Provencher) guys is wearing a Nike sweatshirt, does that mean he works for Nike?" said LeBlanc.

LeBlanc can appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals within 60 days; he said that appeal is already in the works.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@salemnews.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis.

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Judge upholds penalty against roofing firm, owner vows appeal ... - The Salem News