Court Decision Expands Contractor Workplace-Safety Responsibilities

From Safety + Health/National Safety Council:

New Orleans — OSHA can issue citations to general contractors who fail to control hazardous conditions at multi-employer worksites, even if those conditions do not directly affect their own employees, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled Nov. 26.

In its decision, the court states that the landscape has changed since the 5th Circuit ruled in 1981 that “OSHA regulations protect only an employer’s own employees” in Melerine v. Avondale Shipyards, Inc.Brian Duncan, administrative law judge for the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission’s Denver regional office, used that decision as precedent in April 2017 when he decided that Hensel Phelps Construction Co. could not be held liable for OSHA violations from one of its subcontractors. The Department of Labor appealed that decision.