Missoula Roofing Company Faces Alleged OSHA Violation

A Missoula roofing company, Jared Langley Enterprises, is facing a possible $14,000 violation penalty after a worker fell to his death April 9 on a job in Florence.

George Fiefield, 51, was allegedly working without a personal fall arrest system, and fell approximately nine feet off a roof, injuring his neck and head. Fiefield was transported to a hospital, where he died the following day.

Area Director for the Billings office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Jeff Funke, said his office conducted an inspection of the work site and discovered several safety violations.

"We found that the employer, Jared Langley Enterprises, failed to ensure that employees were protected by wearing a personal fall arrest system," Funke said. "Unfortunately, this was the second time that OSHA has found this situation at this company's construction site. They were previously cited for a similar situation back in January of 2013."

Funke said the alleged citation is $14,000, but the company has an avenue to appeal the ruling.

"The company has the opportunity to hold what is called an informal conference with our office, but it has to be done within 15 working days from the time the citation was issued," Funke said. "If we can't come to an informal agreement, the company has the right to protest the citation in federal court."

Funke said his office works to help companies prevent accidents.

"The last thing we want to investigate is a workplace fatality," he said. "We do hundreds of what are called program-planned workplace inspections, where we observe hazards before someone gets hurt, and then address them."