Preparation is protection

By Emma Peterson. 

How building systems, training teams and updating documents reduces your legal risk. 

From immigration investigations to OSHA inspections, there are a myriad of jobsite legal situations that could crop up out of nowhere. The best way to prepare your business for these unexpected scenarios is by training your team properly and keeping a core set of documents updated and organized. To learn more about how to do this, we sat down with Trent Cotney, roofing litigation specialist and partner at the Adams and Reese law firm, for a Read Listen Watch (RLW)® webinar.   

Preparing your papers  

When it comes to keeping papers in order and up to date, the first and foremost should always be your contracts. Trent highlighted the importance of keeping track of contracts:  

A lot of people tend to ignore contracts until it’s too late. My advice is to look at your contract every six months. And when you look at it, you should be making sure it is up to date and addressing any issues that might’ve cropped up since the last time you checked it. I’ll give you an example, say you have a customer who steps on a nail and files a personal injury claim. Next contract you make should have a nail disclaimer in it to give you a better defense if that situation comes back up later. 

Additional documents that need to be in order include your labor papers, such as 1099s and W2s. You also always need to have a safety manual set up. Trent explained, “You need to be able to dictate what kind of safety you're doing. We live in a world now where the multi-employer side doctrine may say that you, the primary roofing contractor, are liable for any subcontractor safety violations if you control their safety. So, it's important that you've got strong contract and documentation set up to define who’s responsible.”  

Training your team 

As for training your team, you need to make sure your on-site supervisors understand what to do when unexpected investigations occur. Trent used the example of OSHA inspections:  

Your superintendent needs to understand what to do if [OSHA] shows up on your jobsite. Understanding how to navigate OSHA inspections is a beast. You need to know and be able to assert your rights when needed. It's things like knowing that supervisors, owners, officers and directors are not to be interviewed by OSHA without counsel present and that you need to limit the inspection to the purpose of why OSHA is out there. 

The best way to make sure your on-site team is prepared is to give them proper training, resources and a standard operating procedure (SOP). If you need help getting these established, Trent’s book, OSHA Defense: Know Your Rights, is an invaluable resource to have on hand.  

You can also Listen to the whole webinar or Watch the recording to learn more.