Multi-Employer Citation Policy

On multi-employer work sites (in all industry and construction sectors), more than one employer may be cited for a hazardous condition that violates an OSHA standard. A two step process will be used to make a multi-employer citation determination.

Step 1 - Determine whether the employer is a creating, exposing, correcting or controlling employer.

Step 2 - Determine if the employer's actions were sufficient to meet the required obligations.

Creating Employer - one that causes a hazardous condition

Exposing Employer - one whose employees are exposed to the hazard

Correcting Employer - one who is responsible for correcting a hazard

Controlling Employer - one who has supervisory authority over the work-site

In most cases, the employer whose employees are exposed to a hazardous condition will receive a citation.

Creating, correcting, and controlling employers may receive a citation even if their own employees are not exposed to those hazards if they have not acted appropriately to mitigate the conditions.

The OSHA multi-employer directive with examples can be found on the OSHA web site at www.osha.gov. You can also contact the local OSHA Area Office if you have any questions.

--George Yoksas, Milwaukee Area Director, OSHA