Employment Law for Business 6th Edition by Dawn Bennett Alexander ,Laura Hartman

Exercise 12

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) hired Francis Harvey Sons as a general contractor. SGH, an engineering firm, was hired to do certain structural engineering services in connection with the project. After a Harvey employee expressed concern to SGH via a telephone call about a potentially dangerous structural defect in the concrete flooring, he was told to continue his work. Later, the flooring collapsed and five workers were hurt. No SGH employees were working at the worksite. After a complaint was filed against SGH, SGH defended, claiming that the worksite was not a "place of employment" of the structural engineering firm and, consequently, OSHA did not apply. Do you agree? [ Reich v. Simpson, Gumpertz Heger, Inc., 3 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 1993).]