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Introduction
A continuing question surrounding the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is the imposition of multi-employer liability through the issuance of an OSHA citation or in tort cases in which a plaintiff is injured on a multi-employer worksite.1 Under OSHA's multi-employer citation policy, employers may be cited for workplace hazards that they create, control, have knowledge of, expose their employees to, or are contractually bound to guard against.2 The multi-employer citation policy allows for an employer to be cited for workplace hazards at a multi-employer worksite, even when his own employees are not exposed to the hazard.3 Since the multi-employer citation policy's inception, plaintiffs in tort cases have used citations and the "multi-employer doctrine"4 to impose a duty of care on premises owners,5 and general or subcontractors at a multi-employer worksite.6 Both the multi-employer citation policy and the multi-employer doctrine face continuous challenges before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission7 and the United States Courts of Appeals.8
This Comment summarizes the recent decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Solis v. Summit Contractors, Inc. ,9 in which the court reinstated an OSHA citation upon an employer whose own employees were not exposed to a cited hazard.10 The Eighth Circuit's decision in Solis highlights the differences amongst the federal circuits relating to various interpretations of the multi-employer citation policy and the multi-employer doctrine, and provides an analytical framework explaining why a majority of circuits now accept and adopt the multi-employer citation policy and doctrine. Section I of this Comment traces the history of OSHA and the theory of multi-employer liability. Section II summarizes the facts of Solis, and provides an overview of the court's rationale in reaching its decision. Finally, Section III surveys the split amongst the appellate courts regarding the adoption of multi-employer liability-be it through the multi-employer citation policy or the use of the multi-employer doctrine in tort cases.
I. The Occupational Safety and Health Act and the History of Multi-Employer Liability
Congress enacted the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to "assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions."11 Through the promulgation of safety regulations, the Secretary of Labor retains enforcement power of OSHA's provisions.12 Employers,...