Importance of OSHA

The OSH Act applies to all employers and their employees in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and all other territories under federal government jurisdiction. Under the OSH Act, an "employer" means a person engaged in a business affecting commerce who has employees, but does not include the United States (not including the United States Postal Service) or any state or political subdivision of a state. 29 U.S.C. § 652(5).
OSHA regulations apply either directly through the federal OSHA program or through a federally approved  OSHA courses in Islamabad. Any state may submit a state OSHA plan, which the federal Secretary of Labor shall approve if it is at least as effective as the OSH Act. 29 U.S.C. § 667. The following twenty-six states and territories currently have OSHA-approved safety and health plans: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Virgin Islands, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.
Most states have adopted plans that are identical to the federal standards and have procedures similar to the federal system. However, there are some differences between the federal system and OSHA-approved states plans. This paper focuses on federal standards and regulations. If you practice in a state with an OSHA-approved plan, you should be cognizant that your state may have slightly different standards and regulations than those discussed in this paper.

2. Who is the Employer? The Issue of Multi-Employer Work Sites

Construction sites often involve multiple employers working alongside or with one another. The prospect thus exists for an employer's violation of an OSHA courses in Islamabad  standard to cause injury to another company's employee working at the same job site. OSHA may penalize an employer for exposing another company's employee to a hazard. See Brennan v. OSHRC, 513 F.2d 1032 (2nd Cir. 1975). In Brennan, OSHA penalized a subcontractor at a construction site for violating OSHA regulations by leaving construction materials near the edge of an elevated, open-sided floor, above workers employed by other subcontractors. On appeal from the citation, the United States Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission ("OSHRC") found no violation because the subcontractors' own employees were not exposed to any danger. OSHA appealed the OSHRC's finding to the Second Circuit. To safe from accidents your emploers must have certification in OSHA courses in Rawalpindi.  The Second Circuit found that the General Duty Clause, which provides that employers must "comply with Occupational Safety & Health Regulations promulgated under the Act," was not limited to its own employees' exposure to a hazard. See Brennan, at 1037-38. The Brennan court held that an employer may be cited if anyone in an area under that employer's control was exposed to a regulation violating hazard. See Brennan at 1038.
Subsequent to Brennan, the OSHRC has further articulated an employer's obligations to other employers' workers at multi-employer construction sites. The OSHRC formerly adopted the principle established by Brennan in Anning-Johnson Co., 4 O.S.H. Cas. (BNA) 1193 (1976). The principle established by Brennan was expanded to all multi-employer work sites by another OSHRC decision. See Harvey Workover, Inc. 7 O.S.H. Cas. (BNA) 1687 (1979).
The OSHRC has also expanded its definition of the type of action at multi-employer work sites that employers can be liable for when workers are exposed to hazards. In Red Lobster Inns of AM., Inc., 8 O.S.H. Cas. (BNA) 1762 (1980), the OSHRC held that an employer that "could be reasonably expected to prevent or detect and abate violations due to its supervisory authority and control over the work site," may be liable for OSHA violations which occur on the work site. Thus, a general contractor, or other employer with control over a work site, may be subject to citation even though its employees did not actually cause the hazard for which the OSHA citation was issued.
The OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual contains standards for multi-employer work sites. See Multi-Employer Citation Policy, OSHA Instruction CPL 2-0.124 (December 10, 1999). The Field Inspection Reference Manual lists the following four categories of employers who are subject to citation: