10/03/2007
NFIB Legal Foundation urges court to limit business owners' OSHA liability to only their employees
CONTACT: Melissa Sharp, 202-314-2068
Washington, D.C.--The National Federation of Independent Business Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, urging the court to limit a business owner's liability under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to only those workers who are employed directly by the business owner.
The issue before the court in this case, Elaine Chao, Sec'y of Labor, U.S. Dep't of Labor v. Summit Contractors, Inc et al, is interpreting the scope of 29 C.F.R. ยง1910.12(a), which states that "Each employer shall protect the employment and places of employment of each of his employees engaged in construction work." OSHA contends that this regulation requires general contractors oversee the safety programs of all subcontractors and their employees, while businesses insist the regulation limits an employer's duty to only his employees. The court is being asked to determine whose interpretation is correct.
NFIB, along with other business allies, argues that holding general contractors liable for actions taken by subcontractors and their employees is an unfair and unworkable burden to place on general contractors. This interpretation of the rule holds general contractors responsible for employees and situations that they simply do not have control over.
"General contractors are not responsible for the day to day operations performed by subcontractors and their employees. They are not on site to oversee how a subcontractor manages their employees, and they should not be held responsible for ensuring that each subcontractor they hire is compliant with all of the relevant OSHA regulations," said Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB's Legal Foundation. "We urge the court to not distort the language of the regulation so that OSHA liability is imposed on the party with the least knowledge and control of the employees and the worksite."
Extending OSHA liability under this rule will likely significantly harm the home-building industry. The vast majority of single-family home builders are very small; about 81 percent of them build fewer than 25 homes per year. These builders rely heavily on specialized subcontractors to perform much or even all of the actual labor. While the builder knows something about every specialized contractor's work, the builder rarely knows enough, or has the time, to completely oversee all of the work done by the contractors.
