The U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday that it is seeking authority to monitor a suburban sewer contractor the agency says has been cited multiple times for safety violations.

The contractor, Norridge-based Gerardi Sewer & Water Co., has had a “severe violator history” at work sites where it digs trenches, the agency said in a press release.

In December, Gerardi received 13 citations and $360,000 in fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to protect workers from cave-ins at trenching operations that were inspected four times in 2010.

Gerardi has challenged those citations, said the company’s lawyer, Dan Flynn of Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago.

“These are just allegations at this point, and we have contested them,” Flynn said. “The company has been cooperating with OSHA to reach an amicable resolution that is in the best interest of employee safety, which is Gerardi’s primary concern.”

But the Labor Department said the company’s challenge prompted officials to file an administrative complaint, asking OSHA to uphold the citations and fines and impose additional compliance requirements to assure the safety of workers on future job sites.

The release said OSHA officials want to require the company to give the agency a monthly report of its work locations, permit unannounced job site audits by qualified independent consultants and annually train workers on cave-in protection for two years.

“The company’s severe violator history has led us to seek this order to ensure that these work sites are safe for employees,” said David Michaels, the assistant secretary of Labor for OSHA. “Cave-ins are the leading cause of death in trenching operations, and Gerardi Sewer & Water Co. has demonstrated a history of blatant disregard for worker safety.”