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The unidentified worker was installing insulation for a second-floor subroof in August 2019 when he took a step back and fell more than 20 feet, first onto a scaffold and then to a concrete floor below, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
He was later pronounced dead of a head injury.
Despite the height, the crew members handling the roof replacement that day at 34 John Street weren't given safety harnesses, lanyards, tie-off ropes, guard rails, safety nets, or other feasible means of fall protection, in violation of OSHA regulations, the U.S. attorney said.
Nor were any of them trained in fall protection or measures that could be taken to minimize any hazards, as also required, he said.
GoogleMaps happened to photograph the John Street location in Haledon as work was being done in August 2019 (see photo, top). It couldn't immediately be determined whether the victim was any of the five men in the shot.
Yilbert Segura, who owns Zona Roofing LLC (Zona Roofing), took a deal from the government rather than risk the outcome of a trial.
Segura pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark on Tuesday, Nov. 21, to willfully violating OSHA standards, Sellinger said.
In exchange, the government will require him to pay $75,000 to the victim's family, the U.S. attorney said.
Zona Roofing, Old Bridge, also will remain on probation for five years and must follow specific requirements that include properly training its employees under the deal, he said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte scheduled a March 25 hearing to either make the agreement official or send both parties back to renegotiate.
It wasn't immediately known whether the fallen worker's family is pursuing a personal injury lawsuit against Segura and Zona in civil court.
Zona Roofing had been cited by OSHA in Maryland in February 2019, six months before the fatal Haledon accident, for failing to provide fall protection for its employees.
Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor's Northeast Regional Office of the Inspector General, along with OSHA Attorney Daniel Hennefeld and Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance officers with the investigation leading to the plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett Schuman of his Criminal Division in Newark.
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