Multi-employer worksites: who OSHA can cite, and what each employer owes
On a shared jobsite, more than one employer can be cited for the same hazard. OSHA's Multi-Employer Citation Policy (CPL 02-00-124, in effect since December 10, 1999) sorts employers into four roles: creating, exposing, correcting and controlling. A general contractor with supervisory authority can be cited for a sub's hazard when it failed to use reasonable care to prevent and detect it. And every employer whose chemicals can reach another crew must tell the other employers how to get its SDSs, what precautions to take and how it labels (29 CFR 1910.1200(e)(2)).
Verified against CPL 02-00-124 on osha.gov, the eCFR and the court opinions · September 28, 2026
At a glance
Who can be cited
More than one employer for the same condition: the one that created it, the one whose crew is exposed, the one responsible for fixing it, and the one in control of the site.
CPL 02-00-124The general contractor's duty
Reasonable care to prevent and detect violations. Lighter than what it owes its own crew, and not strict liability for everything a sub does.
CPL 02-00-124, controlling employerA sub that can't fix the hazard
Stays out of a citation by asking the creating or controlling employer to fix it, telling its crew, and protecting them another way in the meantime.
CPL 02-00-124, exposing employerChemicals on a shared site
The employer that brings them writes three methods into its HazCom program: SDS access, precautions and its labeling system, for the other employers.
1910.1200(e)(2); 1926.59General Duty Clause
Only an exposing employer can be cited under it. Creating, correcting and controlling employers are cited under a specific standard.
CPL 02-00-124In court
Upheld by the Eighth Circuit (Summit, 2009) and the Fifth Circuit (Hensel Phelps, 2018), which dropped its old rule that OSHA protects only an employer's own workers.
558 F.3d 815; 909 F.3d 723How OSHA decides who gets the citation
“On multi-employer worksites (in all industry sectors), more than one employer may be citable for a hazardous condition that violates an OSHA standard. A two-step process must be followed in determining whether more than one employer is to be cited.”
Step one
Is this employer a creating, exposing, correcting or controlling employer? One employer can be several.
Step two
Were its actions enough to meet the obligations of that role? Most cases turn here, because each role owes a different amount of care.
A general contractor is often the controlling employer and, when its own carpenters work next to the hazard, an exposing employer too. The directive tells compliance officers to check the exposing role first.
The four roles, and what kept each one out of a citation
Definitions and duties as CPL 02-00-124 states them, with the outcome of one of the directive's own examples for each.
Creating employer
The employer that caused a hazardous condition that violates an OSHA standard.
Its duty
Don't create violative conditions. It is citable even when the only people exposed work for someone else.
In OSHA's Example 2, a crew that damaged guardrails it had no authority to repair stayed out of a citation: it kept everyone away from the edge and told the controlling employer.
Exposing employer
An employer whose own employees are exposed to the hazard.
Its duty
With authority to correct the hazard, correct it. Without it: ask the creating or controlling employer to fix it, inform the crew, and take reasonable alternative protective measures. All three. In imminent danger, pull the crew off the work.
In Example 4, an electrical sub that asked the GC several times to cover impalement rebar and rerouted its crew around it was not citable.
Correcting employer
An employer in a common undertaking on the same site that is responsible for correcting a hazard, usually the one hired to install or maintain safety equipment.
Its duty
Exercise reasonable care in preventing and discovering violations, and correct the hazard.
In Example 5, a guardrail contractor that inspected every floor twice a day and repaired damage as soon as it was reported was not citable for a rail knocked down after its afternoon round.
Controlling employer
An employer with general supervisory authority over the worksite, including the power to correct violations itself or require others to correct them.
Its duty
Exercise reasonable care to prevent and detect violations on the site. It is not normally required to inspect as often, or to know the trade's standards as well, as the employer it hired.
In Example 7, a GC that pointed out a painter's fall protection violations each time it found them, and took no further action, was citable: it had no graduated system of enforcement.
All thirteen examples, with the facts OSHA weighed: the multi-employer doctrine, example by example.
Who counts as the controlling employer
Control is about the power to make another employer fix a hazard. The directive recognizes four ways to have it, or not.
A contract right to control safety
The clearest case: the contract lets the employer require another employer to follow safety and health requirements and to correct the violations it finds.
Other contract rights that add up
Even when the contract says the employer has no safety authority, broad rights can make it a controlling employer. The directive singles out resolving disputes between subs, setting schedules and deciding construction sequencing. OSHA consults the Regional Solicitor before citing on this basis.
Control in practice
With no contract rights at all, an employer that actually exercises broad control over the subs' work, safety included, is a controlling employer. Here too, the directive calls for the Regional Solicitor's review before a citation.
Architects and engineers
Only when their involvement is broad enough to meet the same tests. An architect that inspects, reports to the owner and points out hazards, with no power to enforce, is not a controlling employer (Example 11).
“Irrespective of the contract language, if, as a practical reality, the construction manager is exercising general supervisory authority, then it will be considered a controlling employer under the policy.”
Reasonable care, in the directive's terms
How often you have to look
- The scale of the project.
- The nature and pace of the work, including how often the hazards change as the job moves.
- What you know about the sub's safety history, safety practices and expertise.
A sub with a record of non-compliance calls for more frequent inspections. So does a sub you have never worked with, at least early in the job. Strong signs of an effective safety effort justify fewer.
What OSHA asks about you
- Did you conduct periodic inspections of appropriate frequency?
- Did you have an effective system for promptly correcting hazards?
- Did you enforce the sub's compliance with an effective, graduated system of enforcement and follow-up inspections?
In Example 8, a GC that inspected at an appropriate frequency and asked a competent electrical sub whether its equipment was safe was not obligated to test the outlets itself.
HazCom on a shared site: who owes the (e)(2) exchange
The duty to share chemical information sits with the employer that brings the chemical, not with the GC by default. Any employer that produces, uses or stores hazardous chemicals where another employer's crew may be exposed writes three methods into its own HazCom program. That includes the GC, for the fuel or form oil it stores where subs work.
- (e)(2)(i)
How the other employers get on-site access to the SDS for each chemical their crews may be exposed to.
- (e)(2)(ii)
How they learn the precautions for normal operations and foreseeable emergencies.
- (e)(2)(iii)
How they learn the labeling system used on the site.
The exact wording of (e)(2), and how a per-jobsite chemical list answers it, are on the chemical inventory hub. A missing exchange is a HazCom violation of the employer that owed it; whether the GC is also citable is the reasonable-care question above.
Set up a shared jobsite before the first sub mobilizes
Six steps that answer the questions the directive asks a controlling employer. They are a way to meet OSHA's test, not extra requirements in the rule.
Step 1
Write the (e)(2) exchange into every subcontract
Before a trade mobilizes, it gives you in writing how the other employers get its SDSs, the precautions its chemicals need and how it labels them (1910.1200(e)(2)). You give the subs the same for the fuel or form oil you store where they work.
Step 2
Collect the paperwork before the trailer shows up
SDSs for what the sub brings, its written HazCom program, its training records. The rule asks for the three methods; the rest is what you will point to when you have to show reasonable care.
Step 3
Put a role on every hazard
For each trade and each hazard: who creates it, whose crew is exposed, who is hired to correct it (the guardrail or scaffold contractor), and who controls the site. One company often holds two roles.
Step 4
Set an inspection rhythm you can defend
Base it on the three factors the directive names: project size, the pace at which hazards change, and what you know about the sub. Inspect more often at the start of a job with a sub you haven't worked with, and write the frequency down.
Step 5
Enforce in steps, and keep each step
A warning, a written notice, then the remedies your contract gives you, such as correcting the item with other workers and back-charging. Pointing out the same violation at every walk and doing nothing more is the fact pattern OSHA cites in Example 7.
Step 6
Close every finding
The directive asks whether you have an effective system for promptly correcting hazards. Log the date found, who fixed it, the date closed, and the follow-up inspection that confirmed it.
Map the roles in minutes with the free responsibility matrix, and send the paperwork request with the subcontractor RFI writer.
What the courts have said, and where the policy applies
Solis v. Summit Contractors
The Review Commission had vacated a scaffold citation against a general contractor in Arkansas, reading 29 CFR 1910.12(a) to limit each employer's duty to its own employees. The Eighth Circuit held that the regulation does not preclude controlling-employer citations and sent the case back.
Acosta v. Hensel Phelps
Three workers of a sub-subcontractor placed rebar at the foot of a 12-foot wall of Type C soil with no protective system, on a public library job in Austin, in view of the GC's superintendents. The ALJ vacated the GC's willful citation under the Fifth Circuit's 1981 Melerine rule. The Fifth Circuit reversed: the OSH Act authorizes citations to controlling employers.
After Loper Bright
Hensel Phelps rested on Chevron deference, which the Supreme Court overruled on June 28, 2024. The Court said it did not call into question prior cases that relied on Chevron: their holdings that specific agency actions are lawful remain subject to statutory stare decisis.
State-plan states
CPL 02-00-124 is a federal program change. The states that run their own OSHA plans had to tell OSHA what they intended to do; adopting it was not required. On a job in a state-plan state, read that state's own policy before you rely on this page.
Run your subcontractors in HazComFast
Reasonable care is proved with records: what you asked for, what came back, what you checked and what you fixed. HazComFast keeps that record while you run the job, and your subs never pay to be part of it.
Invite the sub, get the papers
Create an access link for the jobsite, send it, and the sub uploads its SDSs, JHAs, training certificates and insurance papers through its own portal. The link expires after the number of days you choose, and you can revoke it any time. A sub invited this way never pays for an account.
Approve it or send it back
Every submission lands in a review queue. Approve it, reject it with a reason, or ask for a revision. Each decision is stamped with who reviewed it and when: the trail a controlling employer needs when OSHA asks what it did before the crew mobilized.
Every trade reads the same sheet
Put a QR code on the container and any worker on site, whoever signs their paycheck, opens its SDS with the phone camera. No app, no login, and no per-seat charge for workers, foremen or subs.
On the Pro plan, site inspections and corrective actions run in the same account, so the finding from Tuesday's walk and the date it was closed are on record next to the documents your subs sent.
What each plan includes
- Subcontractor portalEvery plan
- Subcontractor document reviewFrom Starter
- QR codes and public container scanEvery plan
- Read proof on hazardous productsFrom Starter
- InspectionsFrom Pro
- Corrective actionsFrom Pro
- Audit trailFrom Starter
- Litigation defense packageFrom Starter
- Full record export, any timeEvery plan
- Offline SDS packs, stored on the deviceFrom Free
Key facts
- CPL 02-00-124 applies on multi-employer worksites in all industry sectors, not only construction. It took effect on December 10, 1999, and replaced the multi-employer paragraph of OSHA's Field Inspection Reference Manual.
- The directive says it imposes no new duties on employers. The duties come from each employer's statutory duty to comply with OSHA standards and to use reasonable diligence to find violations.
- A controlling employer's duty of reasonable care is less than what it owes its own employees. It is not normally expected to have the trade expertise of the sub it hired.
- The directive names a consistently high level of compliance as the most important sign that a sub runs an effective safety effort.
- Only exposing employers can be cited under the General Duty Clause (section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act).
- HazCom's multi-employer paragraph names construction as its example: “employees of a construction contractor working on-site” (1910.1200(e)(2)). Part 1926 adopts it through 1926.59.
- The Review Commission generally applies the precedent of the circuit a case would be appealed to. That is why the ALJ in Hensel Phelps vacated the citation in 2017: the Fifth Circuit's 1981 Melerine rule still bound a Texas case.
- State-plan states were required to notify OSHA of their intent on the directive, not to adopt it.
Tools, guides and the rules
Free tools
- Multi-Employer Citation Role
Four questions: which roles apply to you on a given hazard.
- Responsibility Matrix
Who creates, is exposed, corrects and controls, trade by trade.
- Subcontractor RFI Writer
A dated written request for a sub's SDSs and program.
- Written HazCom Program Generator
Includes the (e)(2) multi-employer section.
- SDS QR Code Generator
A QR code on the container that opens its SDS.
- Inspection Action Plan
What to do in the first hour of an OSHA visit.
Multi-employer worksite FAQ
Is a general contractor responsible for a subcontractor's safety violations?
It can be cited for them. Under OSHA's Multi-Employer Citation Policy (CPL 02-00-124), a general contractor with general supervisory authority over the site is a controlling employer, and it is citable when it fails to exercise reasonable care to prevent and detect violations, even if none of its own employees were exposed. It is not strictly liable for everything a sub does: the directive says its duty is lighter than the duty it owes its own employees.
What does a subcontractor have to tell the other employers about its chemicals?
An employer that uses or stores hazardous chemicals where other employers' workers may be exposed must write three things into its HazCom program under 29 CFR 1910.1200(e)(2): how it gives the other employers on-site access to the SDSs, how it tells them the precautions to take, and how it tells them about its labeling system. Construction adopts the same text through 29 CFR 1926.59.
What counts as reasonable care for a controlling employer?
CPL 02-00-124 asks whether the controlling employer ran periodic inspections of appropriate frequency, had an effective system for promptly correcting hazards, and enforced the sub's compliance with a graduated system of enforcement and follow-up inspections. How often it must inspect depends on the scale of the project, the nature and pace of the work, and what it knows about the sub's safety history and expertise.
Can a subcontractor be cited for a hazard another employer created?
Yes, as an exposing employer, if it knew of the hazard or failed to use reasonable diligence to find it, and failed to protect its employees within its authority. A sub that can't fix the hazard itself is not citable if it asks the creating or controlling employer to correct it, informs its crew, and takes reasonable alternative protective measures (CPL 02-00-124).
Does a contract that says the GC has no safety authority protect it?
Not on its own. The directive says an employer can still be a controlling employer through a combination of other contract rights, such as resolving disputes between subs, setting schedules and deciding sequencing, or through the control it exercises in practice. OSHA consults the Regional Solicitor before citing on those grounds.
Can a construction manager, architect or engineer be a controlling employer?
Yes, when its involvement is broad enough. In the directive's Example 9, a construction manager whose contract denied safety authority but let it set schedules and sequencing was a controlling employer. An architect that only inspects, reports to the owner and points out hazards, with no power to enforce, is not (Example 11).
Have courts upheld controlling-employer citations?
Yes. The Eighth Circuit held in Solis v. Summit Contractors, 558 F.3d 815 (2009), that 29 CFR 1910.12(a) does not preclude them. The Fifth Circuit held in Acosta v. Hensel Phelps Construction Co., 909 F.3d 723 (2018), that the OSH Act authorizes citations to controlling employers at multi-employer worksites, and set aside its 1981 Melerine rule. Hensel Phelps relied on Chevron deference, which the Supreme Court overruled in Loper Bright (2024); the Court said holdings of earlier cases that relied on Chevron remain subject to statutory stare decisis.
Do state-plan states follow CPL 02-00-124?
Not automatically. The directive is a federal program change: states with their own OSHA plans had to notify OSHA of their intent, but adoption was not required. On a job in a state-plan state, check that state's own multi-employer policy.
What happens if a sub won't hand over its SDSs?
Put every request in writing with a date, and use the remedies your subcontract gives you, such as withholding site access or stopping the work. Under CPL 02-00-124, a controlling employer that points out a problem and does nothing more has not met its duty: OSHA's Example 7 cites a general contractor that flagged violations at every inspection but had no graduated system of enforcement.
Does being the controlling employer put a sub's injuries on the GC's OSHA 300 Log?
No. Citation roles under CPL 02-00-124 do not decide recordkeeping. Under 29 CFR 1904.31(b)(3), a contractor records the injury of its own employee when it supervises that employee day to day; the host records it only if the host provides the day-to-day supervision.
Sources
- OSHA Instruction CPL 02-00-124, Multi-Employer Citation Policy (December 10, 1999)
- 29 CFR 1910.1200(e)(2), eCFR
- 29 CFR 1926.59, eCFR
- Solis v. Summit Contractors, Inc., 558 F.3d 815 (8th Cir. 2009)
- Acosta v. Hensel Phelps Construction Co., 909 F.3d 723 (5th Cir. 2018)
- Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, No. 22-451 (U.S. June 28, 2024)
CPL 02-00-124 read on osha.gov, 29 CFR 1910.1200 on the eCFR, and the three opinions on the courts' own sites, on September 28, 2026. General guidance, not legal advice: multi-employer cases turn on their facts, and state-plan states can set their own policy.
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OSHA does not give advance notice of inspections (29 CFR 1903.6). Get the binder in order before the opening conference, not during it.
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