A Hillsboro-based contractor is facing over $80,000 in fines after repeatedly failing to protect its employees from trenching hazards, state safety regulators say.

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division issued a citation to Renner Trucking and Excavating Inc. on May 12 following an inspection that found two employees working in an unprotected trench at a residential construction site in Beaverton.

The trench — approximately three feet wide, 12 feet long and more than five feet deep — had no protective system in place to prevent a collapse, according to OSHA.

“A cave-in can trap and kill within seconds,” the agency said in a release announcing the $80,804 fine.

Regulators said the inspection was conducted as part of an ongoing emphasis program targeting excavation work, which poses a high risk of serious injury or death.

“Any employer preparing to do this type of work must take the well-known dangers seriously by following safety requirements designed to protect workers,” Renée Stapleton, administrator for Oregon OSHA, said. “Workers have a right to hazard-free jobsites. Employers must make that right a reality.”

The safety agency issued a total of three citations:

• $39,696 for failing to provide a protective system from a trench collapse — a repeat violation of a similar infringement found in the previous three years.
• $39,696 for failing to ensure a trained person was on-site to identify and respond to trench hazards — also a recently repeated violation.
• $1,412 for not protecting workers from potential rock or soil falling from the trench face — a serious violation.

The total penalty includes a standard reduction based on the company’s size, OSHA added.

Employers have 30 calendar days from the citation date to appeal. Renner Trucking and Excavating Inc. did not respond to an immediate request for comment.