b'egalUpdate~ ~ - - - - v& Controlling Employer Policy Reinstated byJl 8th Circuit Court of Appeals By Gary Auman, MRCA Legal Counsel Oneof theareasin whichIt isrreason thatdecimanyfo thisthe contractors canrun afoul of OSHA,sion bytheReview Commission yearonevenwhentheydon\'t haveanyofover aago eliminating the ctheirownemployees exposed to atrollingemployerconceptwasso hazard,isunderOSHA\'smulti impor to the construction industant employer worksite doctrine.try.Atthat time,theOccupational OSHA has created labels for fourSafety and H lth Review Commiseadiffer t typesofemployersund sion vacated citationsu againen eriss edst this doctrine. T iscontrollingSumm Contractorsunderthe heretheit emp loyerctemployer; this is theloyer whomulti-emp sitedo rineof h control of the en worksite andOSHA.The ReviewCo ion astiremmisstheoretically controls allfetythecited29CFR Section i9i0.i2(a), This appears tosa on worksite.there isexposingthegeneralindustry standardthat Then,the fairly state that evenemployer;thisisanyemplo providesfortheestablishmentof yer whose employees areto acon nindustrystandar employer\'s du to p tect the place exposedstructio ds.tyrocontrollingsecti ing aemployerhazard whether or not the employerThison of the Code of Federalofemployment,includ others will not be heldcreated thed.third type ofR tions st :w work attheplaceof emp hazar Theegula ates holoyemployeris theemployer;"The standards prescribed in p ment,as the employero creatingartso longalsresponsible for safetythis isewho is responsi iof thisare adopted ashasemployeesatthatplaceof th employer926chapter b forcreatinganyhazard,againocc ional safetystan employmen " hazards ofleupat and healtht.whichwhetherornotitsemp aredards un section 6t A a It doesappea in thelast le loyeesderof hectndr, it is not aware, orexposed to the hazard. Finally, thereshall apply, according to the provi wordsofthepreceding q tation, uoemployer istheemp the Courtayne is the correcting; th issions thereof, to everyloymentthatm have created oexposures to knownandplaceof employment of everyexception for employers con nemployer w has theilityfro ted horesponsibhazards for which it isfor correctingsafetyhazardsthatemployee engagedinconstructionwith alti-em type oftuamu ployersiexist on the worksite.work. Eachemp r shallp cttion. For thetrolling employ to loye rote con er not aware.OSHAbeen enforcing the con theemploymentandplacesofhave respon lity for theplohassibi em ymp thiseachemploy loyersorktrolling e loyer part ofdoctrineemployment ofof hisees of other emp on the w bycitinggeneralcontractors andees engaged intionbysite, it mu have employees at the construc workst other employers who control a orc ingwiththeappropriatesite at the me of the OSHA inspecllomply tipartofa worksite.For example, astandardsprescribedinthisption.Thisseems to imply that the arar ing contractorbe cited as agraph."controlling employern be oof couldwillotheld controlling employer for permittingTheprecedinglanguageseemsresponsibleforthesafetyofthe unguar oleexis ro anies anded h tot on aofclear tome,anddid alsoto theemployeesofother comp on mi sion ees deckonwhichitis working, evenReview Com s . But theU.S.the site unless it also has employthough itsemployees wereCourt oflsthe 8th Circuitth This appears to fairly state thownnotAppea forere.at exposed to the hazardif the HVACdid not agre Withinlast threeeven atrollingwill not e.thecon employer contractor\'semp wereweeks, in the case of Solis v. Sum be heldble for sa hazloyeesresponsi fety exposed to the hazard.rse, themitContracto ,Inc.theCourtardsofwhich it isn aware,or Of cou rs ot H contractor is n off the hook.reversed the Review Commission inexpo toknownhazards for VACotsures It would also be cited for several dif a 2 toidec . Ina torturouswh it is not. Whether mision ichaware ore undercan be read in theision todec than ferent possible violationsthisgrammaticalanalysisinvolving scenario;butthepointisthat theprepositionalphrases,adjectives,this will havebeined on a todetermroofing contractor, if it controlled thead and noun the Court deter case-by-case basis. verbss, site. could also be cited as the con m ed that in the second sent ce in en of trolling employer.theabove-quo sta rd,the tedndaSecretarydid"notp c an re lude'