Fatal falls may result from failure to provide appropriate guarding and fall protection for work around skylights, skylight openings, and other roof openings. Read the NIOSH Alert describing eight accidental deaths from falls.
Install your FallGuard Skylight Safety Screens before it’s too late!
(a)(4) Every skylight floor opening and hole shall be guarded by a standard skylight screen or a fixed standard railing on all exposed sides.
(e)(8) Skylight screens shall be of such construction and mounting that they are capable of withstanding a load of 200 pounds applied perpendicular at any one area of the screen. They shall also be of such construction and mounting that under ordinary loads or impact, they will not deflect downward sufficiently to break the glass below them. The construction shall be of grillwork with openings not more than 4 inches long or slatwork with openings not more than 2 inches wide with length unrestricted.
(a) General. (1) This section sets forth requirements for employers to provide fall protection systems. All fall protection required by this section shall conform to the criteria set forth in 1926.502 of this subpart. (a)(2) The employer shall determine if the walking/working surfaces on which its employees are to work have the strength and structural integrity to support employees safely. Employees shall be allowed to work on those surfaces only when the surfaces have the requisite strength and structural integrity.
(b)(4) Holes. (i) Each employee on walking/working surfaces shall be protected from falling through holes (including skylights) more than 6 feet (1.8m) above lower levels, by personal fall arrest systems, covers, or guardrail systems erected around such holes. (ii) Each employee on a walking/working surface shall be protected from tripping in or stepping into or through holes (including skylights) by covers. (iii) Each employee on a walking/working surface shall be protected from objects falling through holes (including skylights) by covers.
Citations are issued by the Area Director. After the compliance officer reports findings, the area director determines what citations, if any, will be issued, and what penalties, if any, will be proposed.
Citations inform the employer and employees of the regulations and standards alleged to have been violated and of the proposed length of time set for their abatement. The employer will receive citations and notices of proposed penalties by certified mail. The employer must post a copy of each citation at or near the place a violation occurred, for three days or until the violation is abated, whichever is longer.
Penalties of up to $70,000 may be proposed for each willful violation, with a minimum penalty of $5,000 for each violation. A proposed penalty for a willful violation may be adjusted downward, depending on the size of the business and its history of previous violations. Usually, no credit is given for good faith.
If an employer is convicted of a willful violation of a standard that has resulted in the death of an employee, the offense is punishable by a court-imposed fine or by imprisonment for up to six months, or both. A fine of up to $250,000 for an individual, or $500,000 for a corporation, may be imposed for a criminal conviction.