- Creating – Creating employers are those whose workers create a hazardous condition that violates an OSHA standard. Employers that create violative conditions are citable even if the only employees exposed are those of other employers at the site.
- Exposing – Exposing employers are those whose workers are exposed to a hazard on a multiemployer worksite. Only exposing employers can be cited for a general duty clause violation. If the exposing employer created the violation, it is citable as a creating employer.
- Correcting – A correcting employer is defined as being engaged in a common undertaking on the same worksite as the exposing employer, and responsible for correcting the hazard. The correcting employer can be cited if it doesn’t exercise reasonable care in preventing and discovering violations and does not meet its obligations to correct hazards even if none of its workers were exposed to the hazard.
- Controlling – Controlling employers are the employers with general supervisory authority over the worksite, including the power to correct safety and health violations or require others to correct them. Control can be established by contract or, in the absence of explicit contractual provisions, by the exercise of control in practice.
- Periodic inspections of the worksite
- Implementation of an effective system for correcting hazards
- Effective enforcement of a site-wide safety and health compliance program.
- The general contractor – As the controlling employer, the general contractor can be cited for allowing all workers present to be exposed to the hazard.
- The electrical contractor – The electrical contractor is the creating employer and can be cited for not covering the exposed wiring. The electrical contractor’s employees do not need to be present at the time when OSHA finds the painters working around the exposed wires. The electrical contractor can also be the correcting employer.
- The painting contractor — The painting company is the exposing employer and can be cited for allowing its employees to work in a hazardous environment.
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