OSHA can fine General Contractors if Their Subs Are Not in Compliance

OSHA POWER BRIEF

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September 10, 2013

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Hello,

Welcome to the first installment of our new OSHA Power Brief series.

The series is designed to help educate and inform local business owners and managers regarding vital OSHA compliance, enforcement and regulatory issues that significantly impact the construction industry, and individual businesses.

With so many rules & regulations that apply to the construction industry, and ongoing rule and enforcement changes, it’s difficult to keep up and it is not uncommon for misunderstandings to arise. Our goal is to help minimize these misunderstandings and keep the Austin construction industry informed.

Why the name? The information gives you the Power to be informed and make smart decisions, and it’s presented in Brief (“The Skinny”) bite sized pieces, because we know how busy you are. But if you want to learn more, refer to the “The Details” section of the email, or feel free to contact us directly for a free Q&A or consultation.

Here we go….

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THE SKINNY

Myth: General contractors are NOT responsible for their sub-contractor’s OSHA and safety compliance while working on the GC’s jobsite.

Fact: OSHA considers the General Contractor the “Controlling Employer on Multi-Employer work sites,” and therefore holds the general contractor responsible for keeping the work site safe and OSHA compliant. This includes ensuring that their subcontractors are OSHA compliant.

General Contractors can be fined by OSHA for violations caused by a subcontractor, as well as violations caused by GC employees. Also, General Contractors have additional civil liability in the event that one of their employees, or even the employee of a subcontractor, is injured or killed by a hazard caused by a subcontractor (or the GC).

If you want to learn more, see more details below…

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THE DETAILS

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Summary of General Contractor’s Legal Responsibilities and Liability

The general contractor is required by law to do the following:

Make Reasonable Care to Ensure Work Sites Are Free of Safety & Health Hazards which includes:

* Periodic inspections, frequent enough

* Effective system to correct hazards

* Effective, graduated enforcement

Coordinate With Subcontractors To Ensure a Safe Work Site

Enforce Subcontractor Compliance By Regularly Inspecting Work Sites & Directing Subcontractors To Correct Any Deficiencies.

In addition, the general contractor has the following OSHA & Civil Liability:

* OSHA can fine and cite general contractor for subcontractor violations

* Workers Compensation insurance only covers general contractor’s direct employees

* Subcontractor employees can sue general contractor, if they are injured

Muti-employer Worksites:

On multi-employer worksites (in all industry sectors), more than one employer may be citable for a hazardous condition that violates an OSHA standard.

Read more on OSHA’s rule on the General Contractors Responsibility for holding Subs in Compliance HERE.

By Russell Carr|2022-10-19T18:49:29-05:00September 16th, 2013|Good To Know|Comments Off

About the Author: Russell Carr

How A Sales Guy Transformed Into An Environmental, Health & Safety Expert & Advocate For Small Businesses I've spent my entire 30+ year career working within the manufacturing and “industrial services” sectors. The first 15 years of my career focused on sales of hazardous materials related products and services to the manufacturing sector, then for the last 16+ years transitioned into entrepreneurship, founding 3 small industrial services related contracting businesses. As you’ll see below, running these companies eventually lead me to found yet a 4th business, but more on that in a minute…. Here’s a brief description of the first 3 companies: Berg Environmental Services, Inc.: hazardous waste disposal & transportation services, founded in August of 2003 3rd party wind energy operations & maintenance services provider to utility scale wind farms throughout the US, founded in September 2007 3rd party oil & gas exploration & production services provider, founded in August of 2011 Each of these companies operated in extremely dangerous working conditions and exposed my employees to a wide range of serious health & safety hazards on a daily basis. To complicate matters, 2 of the companies also exposed the environment to significant potential harm. In other words, I learned very early the critical importance of managing environmental, health and safety issues so as to ensure the safety of our employees and the environment, as well as minimizing related risks. But I also learned how incredibly difficult and challenging this endeavor can be due to the wide range of complicated and continually changing environmental, health and safety rules and regulations that impacted the companies. To summarize the challenges: First I had to determine which regulations applied to each company, then I had to build compliance programs to meet those regulations, and finally I had to ensure that the programs were being managed and followed by our staff on a daily basis. All while trying to run and grow 3 profitable businesses…. It was overwhelming and I always struggled to keep up. To make matters worse, throughout this time I also witnessed the devastating price that companies, management and ownership can pay for failing to manage EHS compliance. This included seeing one of my hazardous waste management clients get sent to jail over environmental issues, another client’s management team threatened with jail time, a direct competitor get fined $378,000 by OSHA fine after an employee was nearly killed, and many others face major fines and penalties. Full disclosure, one of my companies got fined by OSHA at one point, & another was cited by TCEQ, so I know how it feels. In summary, I learned first hand how incredibly difficult it is for small companies to manage EHS compliance due to a common lack of the critical expertise, time and resources that are needed to keep up, and how this situation then ends up exposing them to these potentially catastrophic risks that can literally destroy lives and businesses. This later inspired me to found my 4th company, Berg Compliance Solutions in 2012, which is dedicated to helping other small businesses, and business owners, to manage EHS compliance and risk. Education BA, Philosophy, University of Colorado, Boulder, December, 1990. Summary of Professional Experience & Qualifications: 30+ years serving the manufacturing & industrial services sectors 30+ years of sales and marketing experience 16+ years as small business owner & entrepreneur: Founded and operated 4 small businesses since 2003. Environmental, Health & Safety Compliance & Program Related: 19 plus years of hazardous waste management including EPA, TCEQ & RCRA regulations 8 years of DOT/FMCSA compliance experience, including hazardous materials transportation 8 years of combined experience implementing and managing OSHA health and safety compliance programs for 2 high risk energy services businesses Successfully implemented and gained ISO 9001 Quality Management Certification and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health & Safety Advisory Service) Certification for wind energy maintenance business. Regulatory Enforcement Related Experience: Served as expert witness in criminal environmental compliance enforcement cases Superfund-CERCLA OSHA enforcement inspections, investigations and resolution in following industries: industrial services, manufacturing & construction. TCEQ enforcement inspections, investigations and resolution in manufacturing.

OSHA can fine General Contractors if Their Subs Are Not in Compliance