Los Angeles, CAThe California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) recently fined a construction contractor $235,865 for violating California labor law, according to a release from the agency.
The release states that the violations by TL Pavlich led to a flash fire that caused a welder to suffer severe burns on a public works project last December. Cal/OSHA determined that the violations were serious enough that they posed an immediate danger to workers and, as a result, halted all work until the hazard was properly dealt with.
The agency also said that the contractor continued to send workers into portions of a steel water pipe despite the fact that he had been told to correct the hazard and notify Cal/OSHA before conducting more work on the project.
"We cannot and will not tolerate bad actors who intentionally sacrifice the safety of their workers," said Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) Acting Director Christine Baker. "Employees should never be placed in a work environment that is a known hazard."
The contractor was reportedly performing the work in the city of Montebello, which has a population of more than 62,000.