152661 - GARDEN VILLAS HERITAGE LLC

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, 152661 - GARDEN VILLAS HERITAGE LLC — a lessors of residential buildings and dwellings facility located at 1737 POSTON CIRCLE, GASTONIA, NC 28054 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 9 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $31,450.00. The inspection case was opened on 2022-08-08.

DOL records document workplace safety violations warranting formal citation under the OSH Act. While classified at the standard enforcement level, all OSHA citations require corrective action and may indicate areas where workplace safety programs should be strengthened.

BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 2.5 per 100 full-time workers — near the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 3.3 per 100,000 workers.

Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $31,450.00 is more than 9.9× the national average of $3,186.32 for facilities in the Other sector (NAICS 531110). This sector encompasses 8,577 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $27.3M.

State Context: Within NC, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 88,256 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $1,699.39.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 9 citations spanning 3 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 8 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 1 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning February 1, 2023 with the latest abatement deadline set for March 20, 2023. Of the 9 total citations, 0 (0%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $31,450.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $3,494.44 falls within the standard penalty range.

The enforcement record for Garden Villas Heritage LLC reveals a profound and systemic failure to implement a Permit-Required Confined Space (PRCS) program, a high-risk oversight for a residential property management firm. The concentration of seven distinct violations under 29 CFR 1910.146 indicates that management failed at every critical juncture of confined space safety, including hazard identification, atmospheric testing, and the provision of necessary equipment for safe entry and rescue. In practical terms, employees were likely directed to enter potentially lethal environments—such as crawlspaces, pits, or utility vaults—without the basic safeguards required to prevent asphyxiation, toxic exposure, or entrapment. The penalty total of $31,450 is notably high for a NAICS 531110 establishment, where typical inspections result in minor housekeeping or electrical fines. The assessment of multiple "Serious" citations for a single entry event suggests that OSHA inspectors found a complete absence of safety infrastructure rather than isolated technical lapses. Furthermore, the inclusion of a 1910.333 violation highlights a concurrent failure to protect workers from electrical hazards during maintenance tasks. Collectively, these citations depict a facility operating with a reactive safety culture that prioritized task completion over fundamental life-safety protocols, leaving the employer vulnerable to significant legal liability and catastrophic workplace fatalities.