Legitimacy of the General Duty Clause Citations: Court Cases Review

Abstract

The General Duty Clause, hereinafter referred to as the Clause, was created under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, hereinafter referred to as the Act, in 1970 to protect workers in the absence of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard. It has been utilized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to cite employers who are not necessarily violating a particular OSHA standard but still do not provide safe and healthful conditions to their employees. Employers over the years have contested the Clause citations. This study carefully reviews the Clause elements within the construction industry context utilizing court cases. A content analysis was initiated by first creating an annotated list of the cases and highlighting their key attributes, such as the construction task(s) involved in the incidents along with the contributing behaviors and actions. An in-depth investigation of the reasons behind affirming or denying the cases was then performed. There are few, if any, studies that have been conducted to better understand the disputation related to the Clause. The findings suggest that construction firms are not fully utilizing the dispute right that is built-in the Act. In addition, this study provides a clear explanation of the Clause’s elements that should be considered by OSHA to issue a valid citation. Accordingly, this study aids compliance safety and health officers (CSHO) in issuing valid Clause citations to minimize disputes. Furthermore, the study findings are expected to help construction firms in developing safety plans that effectively reduce or eliminate workplace hazards to improve overall site safety and avoid Clause citations.