Contractor Arrested After Two Workers Fall to Their Deaths

Mindy Cohn 

The owner of ALJ Home Improvements, Inc., Jose Lema Mizhirumbay, has been charged with willfully violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, resulting in the death of an employee.

Two ALJ Home Improvements workers fell to their deaths on separate occasions, as reported by Rockland Daily here. The first death was in Sullivan County in February 2019, and the second occurred in February 2022, when a worker fell to their death off a roof in New Square. 

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Lema was arrested yesterday at his home in Nanuet and was presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik. He is charged with one count of knowingly and willfully violating OSHA residential construction fall protection standards by failing to protect his employees from fall hazards and causing injuries that resulted in an employee's death. This charge carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined ALJ Home Improvements $1.3 million. This comes after many other OSHA investigations at AJL worksites, which resulted in the issuance of 24 willful citations and 16 serious citations. Each time OSHA investigated, Compliance Safety and Health Officials made Lema aware of his rights and obligations to his employees. Despite this, Lema failed to comply with OSHA standards. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: "As alleged, Lema endangered the safety of his workers by disregarding regulations and failing to ensure his employees used fall protection systems. This conduct led to the death of a roof worker on a construction site. Today's charge should serve as a reminder to small businesses that failure to comply with safety regulations can lead to unnecessary and preventable tragedy."