OSHA has cited a Florida construction company after one of its employees died from heat exposure while working at a residential site in Jacksonville.

Middleburg-based Southeastern Subcontractors Inc. failed to protect its workers from the dangerous hazards of working outdoors in extreme heat, according to OSHA, which issued one serious citation for exposing employees to heat-related injuries, and one other-than-serious violation for failing to report a workplace fatality to OSHA within 8 hours of its occurrence. The company faces proposed penalties of $22,173.

The worker died from hyperthermia, which occurs when the body’s temperature is abnormally high because it cannot regulate the heat from the environment.

“Employees exposed to heat on the job - whether indoors or outdoors - are at an increased risk of suffering heat-related illnesses, such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke,” said Brian Sturtecky, OSHA Jacksonville Area Office Director. “Tragedies such as these can be prevented if employers develop and implement a heat illness prevention program, and provide employees with water, rest, and shade.”