March 1, 2019

If you hire subcontractors, you are liable for their safety.

Under OSHA’s Multi-Employer Citation Policy, “more than one employer may be citable for a hazardous condition that violates an OSHA standard.” Recently, OSHA issued citations and penalties totaling $147,998 to Aspen Contracting Company (Aspen) for exposing employees to dangerous fall hazards—even though they weren’t Aspen’s employees. As the “controlling contractor” on a project where employees of subcontractor J Cuellar were performing work, OSHA concluded that Aspen did not “provide for frequent and regular inspections of the job site… made by competent persons designated by the employer.” For this, OSHA proposed a penalty of $12,195. In addition, because Aspen had been cited previously for lack of fall protection on multiple job sites in multiple states, they were issued a second citation for a repeat offense, which carried a proposed penalty of $129,366.  …

OSHA Issues Multi-Employer Citations for Colorado Project ViolationsRead More »