Protecting Your Business from a NY Labor Law Claim

By John Schmitt & Kirsten Shepard, CIC, CISR Elite

If you’re not properly documenting your subcontractors training, it can create safety issues on the job site. Here are a few things you can do to protect yourself and your business.

Written agreement with the subcontractors you hire.

When writing an agreement with hired subcontractors, identify all parties in the agreement, and describe the scope of work the subcontractor will undertake. To protect yourself and the owner of the project you should have effective hold harmless, indemnification, and a defense. You should have detailed insurance requirements written out to meet the indemnification and defense requirements. Include a safety statement to establish the subcontractor is responsible for job site safety. All parties must sign and date the agreement prior to the start of work.

Documentation of safety at the job site.

Require the subcontractor to have a formal, well documented safety program for their employees. Your job site superintendent documenting safety issues in their daily log, such as:

    Monitoring subcontractor’s operations. 

    Stop them when you see unsafe operations and document it.

    Advise the subcontractor to correct violations before proceeding and document it.

You should also document any on-site training provided by the subcontractor, your company or any outside organization.


For more information please contact contractual risk transfer experts John Schmitt or Kirsten Shepard at [email protected] or [email protected].

This content is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing professional, financial, medical or legal advice. You should contact your licensed professional to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Please refer to your policy contract for any specific information or questions on applicability of coverage.

Please note coverage can not be bound or a claim reported without written acknowledgment from a OneGroup Representative.