It’s likely to be one of the first questions federal investigators ask after a worker gets injured: Did the employee receive adequate safety training for the job?
And it hints at the complexities of complying with federal workplace safety regulations.
“Adequate” obviously includes required training, the specifics for which are spelled out in myriad standards enforced by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
But it can also include recommendations, some of them made by the agency itself and others from professional standard-setting organizations such as the American National Standards Institute, or ANSI, and the National Fire Protection Association that may or may not be referenced in OSHA’s rules or letters of interpretation from its staff.
Depending on the circumstances, ignoring recommendations can lead to penalties under the agency’s general duty provision requiring businesses to provide hazard-free workplaces.
“No person should ever have to be injured, become ill or die for a paycheck,” OSHA says in a reference booklet consolidating the training requirements spelled out in more than 100 regulatory standards covering categories from general industry to maritime, construction and agriculture. “Training in the safe way for workers to do their jobs well is an investment that will pay back over and over again in fewer injuries and illnesses, better morale, lower insurance premiums and more.”
Read More: Knowledge Is Power: MSC Safety Services Help Workplaces Reduce Risk
While training rules vary by regulation, with some mandating simply “instruction” while others require “adequate” or “effective” teaching, OSHA says they all obligate employers to present job-related safety information in a way that employees can understand.
In practical terms, that means that if an employee doesn’t speak or comprehend English, training must be given in the worker’s language, the agency says, and “if the employee’s vocabulary is limited, the training must account for that limitation.”
Additionally, if employees aren’t literate, telling them to read training materials doesn’t satisfy OSHA requirements.
“Employers are expected to realize that if they customarily need to communicate work instructions or other workplace information to employees at a certain vocabulary level or in language other than English, they will also need to provide safety and health training to employees in the same manner,” the agency advises.
Adult Safety Education
To help employers provide adequate safety training, OSHA offers a variety of assistance programs including a written guide to effective techniques, which fall into the category of recommendations rather than requirements—something the agency is careful to point out.
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