An Oklahoma construction company has agreed to pay $370,680 in criminal and civil penalties in order to avoid being criminally charged over the October 2019 death of a worker who fell 50 feet while working atop a soybean storage tank, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday.
OSHA said Yale-based Skinner Tank Co., which builds welded steel storage tanks nationwide, was initially issued civil citations for willful violations for failing to require the use of fall protection.
The company had also faced $415,204 in fines.
The matter was referred to the U.S. Justice Department for criminal prosecution after OSHA investigators said the contractor deliberately provided workers with incorrect information, namely that wearing fall protection presented a greater hazard than not wearing it.
The company also failed to provide employees with fall protection training, OSHA stated.
The agreement gives Skinner Tank deferred prosecution protection.