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Multi-Employer Citation Role Determiner

On a shared jobsite, who can OSHA cite for a hazard? Answer four questions to see which of the four roles in CPL 02-00-124 (creating, exposing, correcting, controlling) apply to you, and the duty each one owes. A general contractor as controlling employer is held to reasonable care, not strict liability.

Verified vs OSHA sources · 2026-10-05

OSHA Directive CPL 02-00-124 (Multi-Employer Citation Policy)

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Answer for one specific hazard

OSHA assigns roles per hazard. Assess one condition at a time.

1. Did you create or cause the hazardous condition?
2. Are any of YOUR OWN employees exposed to the hazard?
3. Are you responsible for correcting this hazard, for example hired to install or maintain the guardrails, covers or other safety equipment involved?
4. Do you have general supervisory authority over the worksite, with the power to correct hazards or require others to correct them?

0/4 answered

How the policy works

OSHA Directive CPL 02-00-124 (Multi-Employer Citation Policy) sets a two-step test: OSHA first decides which role(s) an employer occupies, then whether that employer met the duty of each role.

The controlling employer (typically the GC) is held to a reasonable care standard, lighter than the care it owes its own employees and not strict liability for a subcontractor's violation. OSHA's authority to cite controlling employers was upheld in Acosta v. Hensel Phelps (5th Cir. 2018).

Roles only: this tool does not set penalties. For reference, the willful minimum in 29 CFR 1903.15(d)(1) is $11,823 (the 2025 amount, still in effect in 2026 because OSHA made no inflation adjustment for 2026).

Answer all four questions (0/4) to see which role(s) apply and the duty each one owes.

Role and duty assessment only, not legal advice and not a prediction of any specific citation. OSHA Directive CPL 02-00-124 (Multi-Employer Citation Policy) is an OSHA enforcement directive. State-plan states were not required to adopt it and may apply their own policy.

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Next step (recommended)

Write down who controls, who creates, and who is exposed

Use case: Multi-employer worksite

Collect and review each subcontractor's documents before they mobilize (HazComFast)Multi-Employer Responsibility Matrix

Document your reasonable-care system before OSHA asks for it.

A controlling employer's best defense is a documented inspection-and-enforcement record. HazComFast builds the written program, SDS library, and inspection logs that prove it.

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How OSHA decides who gets cited on a shared jobsite

On almost every construction project, several employers work side by side: a general contractor, its subcontractors and their crews. OSHA's Multi-Employer Citation Policy (OSHA Directive CPL 02-00-124 (Multi-Employer Citation Policy), effective December 10, 1999) lets the agency cite more than one employer for a single hazard. It uses a two-step test:

  1. Step 1: which roles does the employer occupy? Creating, exposing, correcting or controlling. One employer can hold several.
  2. Step 2: did the employer meet that role's obligations? Each role owes something different. An employer that fell short can be cited even when none of its own employees were exposed, except under the General Duty Clause, where only the exposing employer can be cited.

The roles are not mutually exclusive: a sub that builds an unsafe scaffold its own crew then uses is both creating and exposing. The tool above assigns every role that fits your facts.

The four multi-employer roles

RoleYou hold it when…What it owes
Creating Employer
You caused the hazardous condition.		You caused the hazardous condition.Don't create the hazard
Exposing Employer
Your own employees are exposed to the hazard.		Your own employees are exposed to it.Protect your own crew
Correcting Employer
You are responsible for correcting the hazard.		Correcting it is your job, usually as the one who installs or maintains the safety equipment.Reasonable care
Controlling Employer
You have general supervisory authority over the site (typically the GC/CM).		You have general supervisory authority over the site (GC or CM).Reasonable care, lighter than for your own crew

OSHA Directive CPL 02-00-124 (Multi-Employer Citation Policy)

The controlling employer's duty: reasonable care, not strict liability

A controlling employer (usually the GC or construction manager) can be cited for a sub's hazard even when none of its own employees is anywhere near it. But it is held to reasonable care to prevent and detect violations, which CPL 02-00-124 describes as less than the care an employer owes its own employees. How often it has to inspect depends on:

  • the scale of the project;
  • the nature and pace of the work, including how often the hazards change as the job moves;
  • what it knows about the other employer's safety history, safety practices and expertise.

OSHA then asks whether it 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. The Fifth Circuit held in Acosta v. Hensel Phelps Construction Co. (909 F.3d 723, 5th Cir. 2018) that the OSH Act authorizes citations to controlling employers. The full breakdown, with OSHA's own examples, is on the multi-employer worksites hub.

Worked examples

Example 1: a floor opening cut by a sub. An electrical sub cuts a floor opening and leaves it unguarded; another trade's laborer works next to it. The electrical sub is the creating employer. The trade whose laborer is exposed is the exposing employer. The general contractor, with authority over the site, is the controlling employer, citable for the opening if its inspections and enforcement did not meet the reasonable-care test. If the GC had cut the opening itself, it would also be the creating employer and could be cited on that basis.

Example 2: the guardrail contractor. A firm hired to erect and maintain the guardrails on a project is the correcting employer for them. It owes reasonable care in preventing and discovering damage, and correcting it. In OSHA's own Example 5, a guardrail contractor that inspected every floor twice a day and repaired damage as soon as it learned of it was not citable for a rail knocked down after its afternoon round. If its own crew works at an unprotected edge, it is also the exposing employer for them.

What to do next

  • If you may be a controlling employer (GC or CM): set and document an inspection frequency that fits the project, a graduated enforcement system (for example: warning, written notice, contract remedies) and a way to close every finding. That record is the reasonable-care defense.
  • If your own employees are exposed: correct the hazard if you have the authority; if you don't, ask the creating or controlling employer in writing to correct it, inform your crew, and take reasonable alternative protective measures. In imminent danger, pull the crew off the work.
  • If you created the hazard: correct it, or if you lack the authority, keep every employee away from it and tell the controlling employer.
  • If you are cited: a notice of contest must be postmarked within 15 working days of receiving the notice of proposed penalty (29 CFR 1903.17(a)), and an informal conference with the Area Office (29 CFR 1903.20) does not extend that window. The steps are on the citation response page. This tool sets roles, not penalty amounts; the willful minimum is $11,823 (29 CFR 1903.15(d)(1)).

Frequently asked questions

Can a general contractor be cited for a subcontractor's safety violation?

Yes. Under OSHA's Multi-Employer Citation Policy (CPL 02-00-124), a general contractor with general supervisory authority over the worksite is typically the controlling employer and can be cited for a subcontractor's hazard even if none of its own employees are exposed. It is held to reasonable care to prevent and detect violations, which the directive says is less than what it owes its own employees, and it is not strictly liable. The Fifth Circuit held in Acosta v. Hensel Phelps Construction Co., 909 F.3d 723 (2018), that the OSH Act authorizes these citations.

What are the four multi-employer roles under CPL 02-00-124?

(1) The creating employer caused the hazardous condition. (2) The exposing employer's own employees are exposed to it. (3) The correcting employer is engaged in a common undertaking on the same site and is responsible for correcting the hazard, usually because it installs or maintains the safety equipment involved. (4) The controlling employer has general supervisory authority over the worksite, including the power to correct violations or require others to correct them. One employer can hold more than one role.

Does the controlling employer have to inspect as closely as everyone else?

No. CPL 02-00-124 says a controlling employer's reasonable-care duty is less than what is required of an employer with respect to protecting its own employees; it is not normally required to inspect as often or to know the trade's standards as well as the employer it hired. 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 other employer's safety history and expertise. OSHA then asks whether it inspected at an appropriate frequency, corrected hazards promptly, and enforced compliance with a graduated system and follow-up inspections.

If none of my employees are exposed, am I off the hook?

Not necessarily. The exposing role depends on your own employees' exposure, but the creating, correcting and controlling roles do not. You can be cited as a creating employer for making the hazard, as a correcting employer if fixing it was your job, or as a controlling employer if you have general supervisory authority over the site, whoever's employees are exposed. The General Duty Clause is the exception: only an exposing employer can be cited under it.

Can I hold more than one multi-employer role at the same time?

Yes. A subcontractor that builds an unsafe scaffold its own crew then uses is both the creating and the exposing employer. A general contractor that also self-performs work can be controlling and creating or exposing at once; the directive tells compliance officers to check the exposing role first. OSHA can cite under each role, and being the controlling employer does not reduce what you owe as the creating or exposing employer.

Does the multi-employer policy apply outside construction?

Yes. CPL 02-00-124 (effective December 10, 1999) applies on multi-employer worksites in all industry sectors. It is an enforcement directive, not a regulation, and chapter 4 of OSHA's Field Operations Manual (CPL 02-00-164) refers compliance officers to it. This tool does not set penalty amounts; for reference, the willful minimum in 29 CFR 1903.15(d)(1) is $11,823, the 2025 amount still in effect in 2026.

Sources & verification

Read on September 28, 2026. This tool is an educational role assessment. It is not legal advice and not a prediction of any specific citation. State-plan states were not required to adopt the directive and may apply their own policy.

Multi-employer worksites hub →Responsibility matrix →Subcontractor SDS request writer →OSHA Fine Calculator →OSHA penalties 2026 →