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Cal/OSHA Faults Employer In Window Washer's Fall In Downtown San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Cal/OSHA has cited Century Window Cleaning for five safety hazards after a window washer fell 11 stories from the roof of a downtown San Francisco building last year.

Two were for serious violations, which include the failure to secure the roof with fall protection equipment and inadequate training on the proper use of the victim's personal fall protection equipment. Cal/OSHA is proposing penalties of $12,765 in the case.

It was on November 21, 2014 when Pedro Perez lost his balance and fell from the building, landing on a moving car. Both Perez and the driver survived, but Perez suffered serious injuries and is still recovering.

"While it was miraculous that this man survived a fall from this height, his fall is an essential reminder that employers are required to provide protections from the hazards of high elevation work," said Department of Industrial Relations Director Christine Baker. Cal/OSHA is a division if the DIR.

Cal/OSHA investigators determined that Perez was in the process of moving the extension cord of a suspended scaffold around the corner of the building at 400 Montgomery Street and when he moved toward the edge of the roof, he disconnected the lanyard of his fall protection equipment from an anchor point. He then lost his balance and tumbled over the edge.

Century Window Cleaning had previously been cited by Cal/OSHA in 2008 for four violations, one of which was serious. The company paid $2,720 in that case.

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