Fifth Circuit Expands OSHA's Authority To Cite General Contractors
In 1981, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals announced in Melerine v. Avondale Shipyards, Inc., that “OSHA regulations protect only an employer’s own employees.” For thirty-seven years, this decision shielded general contractors in the Fifth Circuit from OSHA citations as to hazards to which their own employees were not exposed. On November 26, 2018, however, the Court overturned this long-standing precedent.
