OSHA's Multi-Employer Worksite Liability Policy: Risk Management Area of Concern

August 22, 2013. OSHA's multi-employer worksite liability policy is a risk management area of concern construction site owners and general contractors should be aware of. Project teams should recognize the different types of employers and their safety duties and responsibilities and also how to pre-plan the safety of their employees for each workplace activity in order to proactively prevent injuries and deaths. There are times when the facility owner will be acting as the general contractor. Even delegating general site construction activity to a general contractor does not necessarily absolve the facility owner from OSHA liability. OSHA Directives CPL 02-00-124 and CPL 2-0.124 -- Multi-Employer Citation Policy (Dec. 10, 1999). Multi-employer Worksite policy, states: "On multi-employer worksites (in all industry sectors), more than one employer may be citable for a hazardous condition that violates an OSHA Standard." The following two-step process determines when one or more employers should be cited: 1. Establish if the employer falls into one of these categories: Controlling, Exposing, Creating and/or Correcting. 2. Establish the employer's obligations for the category(ies) in which they are grouped. For more information about OSHA multi-employer worksite liability policies and how facility owners and contractors are affected, contact: Bruce Smith at the Goosmann Law Firm, 410 5th St., Sioux City, Iowa 51101 whose practice includes Environmental, Health & Safety, Risk Management and Business Manufacturing. Email: bruce@goosmannlaw.com.