Disturbing news out of the Badger State on Tuesday after a roofing contractor was sentenced on a conviction of child enticement stemming from charges filed against him in Washburn County, Wis., Circuit Court last March. Following a guilty plea in June, the court handed down a 25-year sentence to James Emerson, president of Rice Lake, Wis.-based ReNew…
Oregon’s state Occupational Safety and Health Division has levied a six-figure fine against a Medford roofing company for repeatedly failing to safeguard workers from fall hazards that could seriously injure or kill them. Oregon OSHA cited JAM Construction Inc. following an inspection of a jobsite in Central Point, just north of Medford, about 35 miles…
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries issued $1.27 million in penalties for four roofing contractors for fall safety violations, including a repeat offender who owes more than $4 million in fines. According to the agency, the penalties result from several safety violations, including allowing workers to perform roofing on top of homes without…
GAF Energy, a Standard Industries company, announced plans last week to build a new state-of-the-art solar roofing testing facility and launch a new round of Building Integrated Solar (BIPV) testing, partly thanks to a U.S. Department of Energy investment. In a June 18 news release, GAF said the project “…aims to develop, test, and validate…
The Roofing Alliance, the philanthropic arm of the National Roofing Contractors Association, announced last week that it would issue a three-year, $150,000 grant to help promote roofing within the SkillsUSA competition. SkillsUSA is a national organization serving teachers and high school and college students preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including construction,…
The New York State Inspector General’s office announced last week that Jeremiah Wiedemann, the owner of Wiedemann Sons Roofing in upstate Northampton, N.Y., was sentenced in connection with an attempted cover-up of an on-the-job employee death. According to the Inspector General’s office, on May 12, 2023, the Northville Police Department responded to a 911 call…
Oklahoma’s State Insurance Department announced this week that it would begin a grant program in 2025 to encourage people to install storm-resistant ‘Fortified’ roofs. The grants would help offset the more expensive roof systems by 10-15%. The program, first reported by KOTV in Tulsa, Okla., will require specific steps for the installation by roofers certified…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The EPDM Roofing Association (ERA) is recommending that federal, state and local governments, as well as regulatory bodies, pause the development and implementation of reflective roofing and cool roofing mandates. This recommendation from ERA is based on the findings of two studies funded by the association, which attempted to measure the efficacy…
