How to Hold Your Subs Accountable For Their OSHA Violations

General Contractors are often tasked with being everywhere at the same time and OSHA takes no exception to that.  OSHA’s directive number CPL 2-0.124 states that on any multi-employer worksite, multiple companies can be held liable for the same OSHA infraction, even the “controlling” entity (read: General Contractor) even if they didn’t cause the infraction.

Under this directive, four types of entities can be held responsible for one entities violation:

1. The Creating Employer- the entity that caused the violation
2. The Exposing Employer- the company whom exposed their employees to the hazard
3. The Correcting Employer- the business responsible for correcting the hazard
4. The Controlling Employer-the supervisor of the workplace, typically the General Contractor

So, what can the “controller” do to protect itself from the safety issues others create on the jobsite? Craig Martin, a Construction Attorney, suggests including an indemnity clause to contracts a GC makes with a subcontractor.  An indemnity clause simply requires a business that caused another business a loss to reimburse that business.  In this case, if an indemnity clause is added to a contract between a General Contractor and a Sub-contractor, the sub-contractor would be legally obligated to pay for the OSHA fines that it caused.  Martin’s posy over at the Construction Contractor Advisor includes a sample clause as a reference for your next contract.

Can General Contractors Make Subcontractors Pay for OSHA Violations? | Construction Contractor Advisor