BAYSTATE ROOFERS INC
According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, BAYSTATE ROOFERS INC — a construction facility located at 43 HIGH STREET, TOPSFIELD, MA 01983 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 21 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $24,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 2011-09-30.
The volume of citations issued during this inspection suggests systematic compliance deficiencies rather than isolated incidents. Facilities with 10 or more citations typically face comprehensive abatement requirements and may be subject to follow-up inspections.
Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $24,000.00 is more than 6.6× the national average of $3,609.14 for facilities in the Construction sector (NAICS 238160). This sector encompasses 532,749 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $1,922.8M.
State Context: Within MA, this facility's penalty places it at the 99th percentile among 60,671 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $2,824.83.
Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 21 citations spanning 7 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 15 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition.
Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning January 24, 2012 with the latest abatement deadline set for January 27, 2012. Of the 21 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 $24,000.00 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 $1,142.86 falls within the standard penalty range.
The enforcement record for Baystate Roofers Inc. reveals a pervasive disregard for the "Fatal Four" hazards, specifically focusing on falls from heights, which remains the leading cause of death in the construction industry. The citation pattern demonstrates a catastrophic breakdown in fundamental safety controls across three primary domains: residential fall protection (1926.501), ladder safety (1926.1053), and scaffold integrity (1926.451). The sheer volume of 21 violations from a single inspection indicates a systemic failure rather than isolated negligence. By failing to provide adequate fall arrest systems while simultaneously neglecting ladder stability and scaffold platform construction, the employer effectively trapped workers in an environment where a single misstep would almost certainly result in a serious or fatal injury. The penalty assessment of $24,000, while modest for a large corporation, represents a significant enforcement action for a specialized roofing contractor (NAICS 238160) and reflects the high gravity (10) assigned to nearly every violation. The presence of multiple "Serious" citations for training deficiencies (1926.454 and 1926.503) suggests that the workforce was not only unprotected by physical hardware but also lacked the requisite knowledge to identify and mitigate onsite hazards. This combination of physical non-compliance and educational neglect points to a corporate culture that prioritized production speed over basic life-safety protocols, necessitating rigorous oversight to prevent future recidivism.