EVERETT — An Everett contractor is facing more than $230,000 in penalties for alleged safety violations at two Seattle construction sites.
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries cited Chilos Builders, 1802 94th St. SW in Everett, for eight safety violations, including conditions that exposed workers to potential fall hazards from two and three stories above ground.
“We’ve cited this company for numerous safety violations the past few years, and we’ve told them many times how to protect their workers from falling from elevations,” said Anne Soiza, the agency’s assistant director for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
The agency has inspected Chilos Builders under its current name and a previous company name five times since 2016.
Each inspection resulted in safety violation citations. The company has appealed the citations from one of the inspections, which took place in 2018, the labor department said.
The companies, which are owned by Ana Iglesias and managed by Cecilio Solorio, have reported 30 worker injuries since 2016, the agency said.
The agency alleged that claims have cost the workers’ compensation system more than $280,000 in medical treatment and related services.
The Everett framing company could not be reached for comment.
The most recent safety violations occurred in April, when the company was helping build new apartments in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. Inspectors found inadequate safety rails on the roof, where six of the company’s framers were working nearly 30 feet above the ground, the agency said.
The Georgetown violations resulted in three citations totaling $126,000 in fines. Those citations were considered “willful,” meaning the employer knew or should have known the rules but refused to follow them, the agency said.
Two months earlier, in February, inspectors found five safety violations at a construction site in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, which resulted in fines totaling $108,360.
Two of the citations were considered willful, including one for failing to install fall protection on window and door openings on a three-story building.
The company, which said it had 66 workers, was also cited for failing to train at least three workers on how to prevent fall hazards, failing to document weekly safety inspections and meetings and failing to ensure that supervisors and crew leaders held valid first-aid certificates.
The company has 15 business days from the time it received a citation to appeal.
In a separate action, the labor department suspended the company’s contractor registration in April for failure to have liability insurance. The registration remains suspended.
Janice Podsada; jpodsada@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3097; Twitter: JanicePods
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