Corbesco, Inc. (Corbesco), an industrial roofing and siding installation company, was hired to put metal roofing and siding over the skeletal structure of five aircraft hangars at Chennault Air Base in Louisiana. Corbesco assigned three of its employees to work on the partially completed flat roof of Hangar B, a large single story building measuring 60 feet high, 374 feet wide, and 574 feet long. Soon after starting work, one of the workers, Roger Matthew, who was on his knees installing insulation on the roof, lost his balance and fell 60 feet to the concrete below. He was killed by the fall.
The next day, an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance officer cited Corbesco for failing to install a safety net under the work site. The officer cited an OSHA safety standard that requires that safety nets be provided when workers are more than 25 feet above the ground. Corbesco argued that the flat roof on which the employees were working served as a “temporary floor,” and therefore it was not required to install a safety net. Has Corbesco violated the OSHA safety standard? Corbesco, Inc. v. Dole, Secretary of Labor, 926 F. 2d 422, 1991 U. S. App. 3369 (United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit)