Of the four exit doors, three were closed, investigators said. The garage manager said after the storm that he had left one locked door propped open to allow the two workers inside a pathway to the lobby of the luxury condominium building above. One worker escaped as the waters rose; Mr. Narh did not make it out.

But propping open a fire door is also a violation of safety regulations, the report said, because it can allow smoke and fire to spread.

The agency levied fines totaling $5,600 and ordered the garage company to correct the violations.

A lawyer for Empire Parking did not dispute the finding of violations but said the doors had been installed by the condominium building before the garage’s renting of the space. “We don’t control them,” the lawyer, Kenneth Aronson, said. “They close them for security. They didn’t want people coming through the garage.”

Calls to the building management and superintendent were not immediately returned on Thursday.

Friends and family of Mr. Narh, a 58-year-old immigrant from Ghana, have said he was told to work his regular Monday shift as the storm bore down and other area garages closed and were evacuated. Empire Parking has denied requiring him to do so.

Mr. Aronson said there was “no evidence that he was working on the job when he drowned.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said at least 15 other workers died in connection with the storm in New York and New Jersey, most during cleanup efforts.