LEWIS CONSTRUCTION, INC.
According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, LEWIS CONSTRUCTION, INC. — a construction facility located at 1425 COUNTY ROAD S, CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI 54729 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 10 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $104,000.00. The inspection case was opened on 2010-12-21.
This facility represents one of the most severe enforcement actions in the OSHA SVEP database. Willful violations combined with penalties exceeding $100,000 indicate a pattern of deliberate non-compliance that poses an imminent danger to workers.
Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $104,000.00 is more than 28.8× the national average of $3,609.14 for facilities in the Construction sector (NAICS 238110). This sector encompasses 532,749 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $1,922.8M.
State Context: Within WI, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 43,331 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $3,505.68.
Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 10 citations spanning 5 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 9 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 willful — The employer intentionally and knowingly committed the violation, demonstrating either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the OSH Act or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning June 8, 2011 with the latest abatement deadline set for July 29, 2011. Of the 10 total citations, 10 (100%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, indicating substantial compliance with corrective action requirements.
Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $104,000.00 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 $10,400.00 falls within the standard penalty range.
The enforcement profile for Lewis Construction, Inc. reveals a catastrophic breakdown in fundamental construction safety protocols, specifically regarding masonry and scaffolding operations. The citation under 1926.703(a)(1) carries a Willful designation, the most severe administrative classification, indicating that management either acted with intentional disregard for worker safety or demonstrated plain indifference to the requirements for shoring and bracing masonry walls. This single violation accounted for over half of the $104,000 total penalty, signaling that OSHA identified a conscious decision by the employer to bypass life-saving structural supports. The accompanying Serious violations under the 1926.451 series—covering platform construction, access, and loading—point to a systemic failure rather than isolated negligence. By failing to provide proper planking and safe points of egress, the employer exposed workers to high-gravity fall hazards and structural collapses. The inclusion of a 1926.20(b)(2) violation further confirms a lack of frequent and regular inspections by a competent person, which is the root cause of the widespread site instability. Compared to typical industry penalties for NAICS 238110, this enforcement action is exceptionally severe, reflecting a workplace where basic engineering controls were ignored in favor of expediency, creating a high-probability environment for multi-fatality events.