Who's on the hook for safety on a shared site?

On a job site with more than one company, OSHA can cite more than one of them for the same hazard, and you do not have to own the hazard to be on the hook. This surprises small subs and GCs alike. OSHA sorts each employer into one of four roles, and if you fit any of them and did not act reasonably, you can be cited, even when none of your own people were the ones exposed.‍‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‍

The four roles

• Creating. You caused the hazard. You can be cited even if only other companies' workers are exposed to it, not yours.
• Exposing. Your own workers are exposed to the hazard. You can be cited if you knew, or should have known, and did not protect them within your power.
• Correcting. You are contractually responsible for fixing a specific hazard (for example, a site safety contractor). You have to take reasonable care to find and fix violations.
• Controlling. You have general authority over the site, which is usually the general contractor. You have to take reasonable care to prevent and detect violations across the whole job, including hazards your subs create.

One company can hold more than one role at once.

It is a two-step test, and the second step is the one you can win on

Being in a role is not the same as being citable. OSHA's directive sets out a two-step process. Step one is deciding which of the four roles you are in. Step two is deciding whether what you actually did was enough, and the answer varies by role. So the question an inspector is really asking is not "were you the GC" but "given that you were the GC, did you take reasonable care".

One limit worth knowing, because it is not obvious. Only an exposing employer can be cited under the General Duty Clause, the catch-all OSHA uses where no specific standard fits. A creating, correcting or controlling employer can be cited for breaching a standard, but not under the General Duty Clause.

"Reasonable care" is a lower bar for a GC than for your own crew

This is the part small GCs get wrong in both directions, either assuming they are liable for everything or assuming they are liable for nothing. The directive says it plainly: the measures a controlling employer must take to prevent and detect violations are less than what is required of an employer looking after its own employees. You are not expected to supervise a specialist sub the way you supervise your own apprentice.

What the directive says it will actually look at:

• Periodic inspections of appropriate frequency. Not continuous supervision. The right frequency depends on the size of the job, how dangerous the work is, how long it lasts, and how much you know about the sub's safety record and expertise.
• An effective system for promptly correcting hazards once they are found. Spotting it and not fixing it is worse than not looking.
• Enforcement of the other employer's compliance, with a graduated system and follow-up inspections. A warning that is never followed up is not enforcement.

A sub with a strong safety record and real expertise in the work reduces the care you need to exercise. A sub you know has been sloppy raises it. That cuts both ways, and it is why keeping a written record of what you inspected and when is worth the ten minutes.

What it means for you

• If you are a GC (controlling): you are responsible for safety across the site, not just your own crew. You cannot ignore a sub's dangerous practice and say it was not your worker.
• If you are a sub (exposing): if your crew is working next to a hazard you knew about, you are citable even if you did not create it. If you cannot fix it yourself, you are only in the clear if you ask whoever created it to correct it, warn your own workers, and take alternative protection in the meantime.
• If you are genuinely self-employed with no employees: OSHA cannot cite you directly, because it only has authority over employers. But a GC can still require you by contract to follow OSHA rules on their site, and a GC can be cited for a hazard a self-employed sub creates that exposes other people's workers. So you get pulled into the system through the contract even when you are outside it by statute.

The takeaway

On any site with more than one company, safety is everyone's problem, and pointing at the other guy is not a defense. Flag hazards you see, protect your own crew, and keep a record that you did both.

Common questions

Can OSHA cite more than one company for the same hazard?

Yes. On a multi-employer site OSHA can cite several employers for a single hazardous condition. Its directive sets a two-step test: first decide whether the employer is creating, exposing, correcting or controlling, then decide whether that employer's actions were sufficient for the role it was in. Any employer that fits a role and did not act reasonably can be cited, and one company can hold more than one role at once. Only an exposing employer can be cited under the General Duty Clause.

Can a general contractor be cited for a subcontractor's violation?

Yes. A general contractor is usually the controlling employer and has to exercise reasonable care to prevent and detect violations across the whole site. That includes hazards its subs create. A GC cannot ignore a sub's dangerous practice and defend itself by saying the exposed workers were not its own crew.

Can I be cited if none of my own workers were exposed?

Yes, if you created the hazard. The creating employer, the one that caused the hazardous condition, can be cited even when only other companies' workers are exposed to it. Whoever makes the hazard owns it, regardless of who ends up standing next to it.

What must an exposing employer do if it can't fix the hazard itself?

To avoid a citation, an exposing employer that lacks authority to fix a hazard has to do three things. Ask whoever created the hazard to correct it, tell its own workers about the hazard, and take reasonable alternative steps to protect them in the meantime. Doing none of those and just letting the crew work near it is what draws the citation.

Can OSHA cite a self-employed subcontractor with no employees?

No. OSHA only has authority over employers, so a genuinely self-employed sub with no employees cannot be cited directly. But a general contractor can require that sub by contract to follow OSHA rules on site, and the GC can be cited for a hazard the self-employed sub creates that exposes other workers.

The honest bit

• This is federal OSHA policy. State-plan states apply the same approach or stricter. See Working in Your State.
• This is general guidance, not legal advice. If you are facing a citation, an OSHA-defense or construction attorney can advise on your specific role and exposure.

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