Falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, according to OSHA.
DENVILLE -- After three recent serious falls at job sites in New Jersey including the death of a painter in Denville on Monday, federal labor authorities are urging companies in the Garden State to use the proper safety equipment.
"These tragic -- and preventable -- incidents involved workers not provided with, or the companies' failure to enforce use of, proper fall protection," the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a news release Thursday.
OSHA said it was targeting employers in New Jersey for failure to take the necessary steps to prevent falls, such as guardrail systems, safety net systems, properly anchored body harnesses and lanyards, and safe work practices.
Adilson Vozniak, 37, of Newark, was part of a crew that was sandblasting and painting a water tower in the woods behind Morris Knolls High School on Monday when he fell about 50 feet. He was pronounced dead at Saint Clare's Hospital.
The company for which he worked -- Allied Painting, Inc. of Cherry Hill -- has been cited by OSHA on multiple occasions for serious safety lapses including fall-related accidents.
Allied Painting was also the focus of an OSHA news release last year in which the agency investigated elevated lead levels in the company's employees who performed abrasive blasting and painting on a bridge spanning the Taunton River in Massachusetts.
During the investigation, OSHA officials found excess lead levels in areas where workers ate, changed their clothes and worked. Employees were also exposed to fall hazards of more than 100 feet because of ladder obstructions and insufficient heights for temporary railings, the agency said.
A representative of Allied Painting declined comment Thursday.
OSHA also pointed out two other instances of alleged fall-related safety lapses by employers.
In April, an employee of Station Builders suffered serious injuries after falling 20 feet in Matawan while installing windows. In March, an employee of Cosmos Furniture Ltd.'s fell 15 feet to his death in a New Brunswick warehouse while fulfilling an order using a powered industrial truck.
"With basic fall protection in place, these employers could have prevented these tragedies," OSHA regional administrator Robert Kulick said in the news release. "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the deceased worker and with those who must learn to cope with permanent disabilities because their employers failed to ensure a safe workplace."
During an enforcement crackdown in May, OSHA conducted 25 fall-related inspections in Atlantic and Cape May counties and 23 inspections in Middlesex and Union counties, which resulted serious and some repeat citations related to falls in construction.
Penalties for these companies ranged from $2,800 to $12,320 for the lapses in Atlantic and Cape May counties, and $1,600 to $24,942 in Middlesex and Union counties, the agency said.
More information on fall prevention is available at OSHA's Stop Falls online resource and at 1-800-321-OSHA.
A working phone number for Station Builders was not available Thursday. Representatives with Cosmos Furniture reached Thursday afternoon have not yet provided comment.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.