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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia this summer found Altor Inc. and its president, Vasilios Saites, in contempt for failing to pay $412,000 in penalties.
Following the ruling, they agreed to pay the full amount plus $30,000 in accrued post-judgment interest, the U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday.
The payment ends lengthy litigation between the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Altor.
OSHA’s Hasbrouck Heights office initially cited the company after an October 1998 investigation identified several safety violations at the construction site of what was to be a 16-story high-rise on Main Street in Edgewater.
They included “multiple willful violations of OSHA’s fall protection standards,” the agency alleged in court papers.
“These penalties were assessed because Altor Inc. allowed their employees to be exposed to dangerous falls and other hazards,” OSHA Regional Administrator Richard Mendelson said. “By planning ahead, training employees, and providing the right equipment, employers can protect their workers, prevent falls and other hazards in the workplace -- and avoid OSHA fines.”
OSHA’s role is to help ensure that employers comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which mandates safe and healthful workplaces for employees.
MORE INFO: www.osha.gov
Senior Trial Attorney Amy Tai of the Regional Office of the Solicitor in New York litigated the most recent phase of the case for OSHA. Earlier phases of the contempt proceedings were litigated by Darren Cohen and Micole Allekotte (formerly of the New York Regional Office), and by Ronald Gottlieb of the Occupational Safety and Health Division of the Office of the Solicitor.
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