De Trae Enterprises was employed as a masonry subcontractor at the Smithhaven Mall construction site in Lake Grove, New York. OSHRC found De Trae guilty of three separate violations of OSHA standards when it was revealed that De Trae employees were allowed to work in areas near unguarded floor openings, open-sided floors, and stairways without proper handrails. The evidence showed that De Trae, as a masonry subcontractor, had no control over creating the safety violations and that responsibility was that of the general contractor; that is, De Trae employees merely did masonry work in the vicinity of someone else's safety violations.
May De Trae be penalized for the safety violations? Decide. [De Trae Enterprises v. Secretary of Labor and OSHRC, 9 OSHC 1425 (2d Cir.)]