OSHA Fines Tree Service $146K for Failing to Protect Workers near Energized Transmission Lines

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited ABC Professional Tree Services Inc., a Houston, Texas-based company specializing in tree trimming for public utility lines clearance, with $146,000 in proposed penalties for allegedly failing to ensure employees were trained to work near energized transmission and distribution lines.

The fines are the result of a May job-site inspection in Morris.

Since 2004, ABC Professional Tree Services has been inspected 11 times nationwide and issued 15 citations for violating OSHA standards. These inspections include three that resulted from workplace fatalities in 2006 and 2007.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.