Is OSHA Training Mandatory in the Construction Industry?

OSHA was created by Congress as part of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The administration creates and enforces safety standards for workplaces in many industries, including construction. As part of its mandate, OSHA partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to create the OSHA Outreach Training Program.

The Outreach Training Program includes two crucial safety credentials, the 10-hour and 30-hour construction training programs. Commonly known as OSHA 10 and OSHA 30, these educational systems prepare workers to recognize, avoid, prevent and correct common workplace hazards.

Students who complete one of these OSHA-authorized safety courses will receive an official card from the DOL. Holding an OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 card is not required by federal law. However, some states and local areas have enacted legislation requiring workers to complete the 10-hour or 30-hour program to work on job sites within their jurisdiction.

Here are some of the other state and local bills that have codified the importance and necessity of OSHA training.

• Connecticut
  • All construction workers for public building projects paid for (in part or in full) by state funding where the total cost is over $100,000 are required to take OSHA-authorized training.
• Miami-Dade County, Florida
  • All construction employees are required to take OSHA-authorized training prior to employment on any Miami-Dade County public or private contract valued in excess of $1,000,000.
• Massachusetts
  • Construction workers for any public sector projects are required to take OSHA-authorized training.
• Missouri
  • All construction workers on public work projects (state or municipal) are required to take OSHA-authorized training.
• Nevada
  • All construction employees (10-hour) and supervisors (30-hour) are required to take OSHA-authorized training within 15 days of being hired.
• New Hampshire
  • All construction workers on public works projects with a total cost over $100,000 are required to take OSHA-authorized training.
• New York
  • All workers on public works contracts greater than $250,000 are required to take OSHA-authorized training (or a pre-approved equivalent program).
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • All employees (10-hour) and at least one supervisory employee (30-hour) of licensed contractors are required to take OSHA-authorized training if they are performing permitted construction or demolition work within the city of Philadelphia.
• Rhode Island
  • All workers on municipal and state construction projects with a total cost of $100,000 or more are required to take OSHA-authorized training.
• West Virginia
  • Workers on any public improvement project with a total cost in excess of $50,000 are required to take OSHA-authorized training.

For more information about the Outreach Training Program, visit the OSHA website. You can check here to see if your state has mandatory training requirements.

With OSHA-authorized training available online from certain trusted providers such as USFOSHA.com, meeting state and federal training requirements is even easier. For workers needing their OSHA 10-hour card, location, class availability and access is not an issue. Even travel costs and time away from work are eliminated.

Students are given up to 180 days to complete the training, which provides an OSHA 10-Hour or 30-Hour Completion Card upon graduation. To learn more about affordable online OSHA-authorized training, visit USFOSHA.com