OSHA fines South Philly contractor for unsafe conditions

Stucco contractor Alberto El Romero, of the 600 block of Mifflin Street in South Philadelphia, was cited for failing to set up safe scaffolding for his workers.

The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed that El Romero pay $51,590 in penalties after alleging that the contractor allowed employees to work on scaffolds without guard rails, proper planks and toe guards at a building site on the 1000 block of South 7th Street on Nov. 5.

The company also did not insist that workers wear hard hats and did not provide fall protection training, OSHA said. The company was issued citations for two serious and five repeat violations.

El Romero acknowledged that the situation was dangerous, but said he fixed it by the next day and no one was hurt. He said he had a hard time following the agency language in the citation.

He said he was not the owner of a business - simply a self-employed stucco worker who asked the general contractor to hire other workers if needed.