The OSHA Training Institute Education Center at Eastern Kentucky University is conducting OSHA Train-the-Trainer courses at the Indiana Wesleyan University Louisville Kentucky Education and Conference Center this fall. OSHA 500 - Trainer Course for Construction will be held November 16-19th (Refresher class OSHA 502 November 16th-18th) and OSHA 501 - Trainer Course for General Industry will be held December 14-17th (Refresher class OSHA 503 December 14th-16th).

These courses are designed for personnel interested in teaching the 10- and 30-hour Safety and Health Outreach Program to their employees and other interested groups. Special emphasis is placed on those topics that are required in the 10- and 30-hour programs as well as on those most hazardous, using the OSHA Standards as a guide.

Participants are briefed on effective instructional approaches and the effective use of visual aids and handouts, and engage in practice teaching modules. Students who wish to participate as authorized trainers in the OSHA Outreach Training Program must prepare a presentation on an assigned topic individually or as part of a group and successfully pass both a performance test and a knowledge test at the end of the course. Upon successful completion, the student will be authorized as an OSHA Outreach Trainer. This authorization is effective for four years.

Prior to attending either of the trainer courses, participants must complete the applicable standards course (OSHA 510 - Construction Standards or OSHA 511 - General Industry Standards) and have at least five years of safety experience in the appropriate field. A college degree in occupational safety and health, a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) or a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) designation in the applicable training area may be substituted for two (2) years of experience.

More information about these upcoming classes can be found at: http://www.ceo.eku.edu/osha/doc/Louisville_2010_Flyer.pdf .

OSHA 10 and 30 Hour Training now requires a two hour “Intro to OSHA” with emphasis on workers’ rights.

“Introduction to OSHA,” a revised training component with a huge emphasis on workers’ rights, is now required content in every OSHA 10 and 30 hour Outreach Training Program class. This was developed because of the Secretary of Labor’s desire to “strengthen the voice of workers”.

During the 10 and 30 hour outreach training program classes, OSHA trainers will now be required to spend a significant amount of time on the topics of whistleblower rights and filing a complaint and will provide samples of the weekly fatality and catastrophe report, a material data safety sheet, and the OSHA Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses.

This is the first time OSHA has developed a PowerPoint presentation for these widely used programs that trainers are required to use.  There are also twelve handouts that the trainer must utilize in the training. 

According to OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels:  “For too long workers have avoided making claims of unsafe work conditions out of fear of losing their jobs, we are confident that this new training will embolden workers to speak up when they find work practices that endanger their lives and the lives of their co-workers.”

Opponents to the change claim all this information is and was already a component of the 10 and 30 hour training. The level of coverage is now disproportionate to the level of the overall program and takes valuable time away from the true intent of the training, which has always been hazard recognition and avoidance.  Another major objection is that one item in the new introduction to OSHA is how to read a Material Safety Data Sheet.  Most trainers cover this in the Hazard Communication section of the training, already a required element. 

The OSHA Outreach Training Program is a voluntary program that seeks to teach workers about their rights and how to identify, reduce, avoid, and prevent job-related hazards. The program includes 10 and 30 hour courses in construction, general or maritime industry safety, and health hazard recognition and prevention; classes are taught through a network of OSHA-authorized trainers. Over the past three years, nearly two million students have received this training, and several states have made the program mandatory for some workers. 

#501 - Trainer Course in OSHA Standards for General Industry, April 27-30, 2010 in Louisville, KY

This course is designed for personnel in the private and public sector interested in teaching the OSHA 10- and 30-hour general industry safety and health outreach program to their employees and other interested groups. Special emphasis is placed on those topics that are required in the 10- and 30-hour programs as well as on those that are the most hazardous, using OSHA standards as a guide. Course participants are briefed on effective instructional approaches and the effective use of visual aids and handouts. This course allows the student to become a trainer in the Outreach Program and to conduct both a 10- and 30-hour general industry safety and health course and to issue cards to participants verifying course completion. Prerequisites: Course #511 and five years of general industry safety experience. A college degree in occupational safety and health, a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), or Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) designation, in the applicable training area may be substituted for two years of experience. NOTE: Students in Course #501 who wish to participate as authorized trainers in the Outreach Program must successfully pass a written exam at the end of the course. Outreach trainers are required to attend Course #503 at least once every four years to maintain their trainer status.

#503 - Update for General Industry Outreach Trainers, April 27-29, 2010 in Louisville, KY

This course is designed for private sector personnel who have completed course #501 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety and Health Standards for General Industry and who are active trainers in the outreach program. It provides an update on OSHA general industry standards and OSHA policies. Prerequisites: Course #501. NOTE: Outreach trainers are required to attend this course once every four years to maintain their trainer status. Students must bring their current trainer’s card for validation.

To register please contact Josh Dahl at with Eastern Kentucky University at (859)622-2961 or josh.dahl@eku.edu

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Release Number: 09-917-NAT
Aug. 6, 2009
Contact: Diana Petterson
Phone: 202-693-1898

OSHA establishes “Watch List” to strengthen integrity of Outreach Training Program

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in an effort to crack down on fraudulent trainers, is continuing to strengthen the integrity of its 36-year-old Outreach Training Program by publishing an “Outreach Trainer Watch List” of those who have had their trainer authorizations either revoked or suspended.

OSHA recently conducted an undercover investigation as part of its heightened effort to address fraudulent activity by trainers authorized through the OSHA Outreach Training Program. The investigation of a 10-hour course conducted by Don Barker, environmental health and safety director for Thor Construction in Las Vegas, revealed several examples of failure to comply with program guidelines. Barker’s infractions included submitting falsified information regarding the instructional time spent on the topics, failing to collect and retain required documentation and inappropriately advising students not to contact OSHA to report hazards.

OSHA revoked Barker’s Outreach Training authorization after he declined to appeal the decision and his name has been added to the “Watch List” on OSHA’s Web site. The “Watch List,” available at http://www.osha.gov/dte/outreach/construction_generalindustry/watchlist.html, will be updated weekly. OSHA is monitoring training programs and has provided a hotline at 847-297-4810 for individuals to file complaints about fraud and abuse.

“Trainers who fail to provide appropriate safety training will pay a stiff price for their fraudulent behavior,” said Jordan Barab, acting assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. “A tighter record control procedure has been instituted requiring trainers to sign their reports and certify the class was conducted in accordance with OSHA’s guidelines. Trainers face civil and criminal penalties under federal law if reports or certifications are found to have been falsified.”

Trainers are authorized by completing a one-week OSHA trainer course through an OSHA Training Institute Education Center. The trainers are then eligible to teach 10-hour programs that provide basic information to workers and employers about workplace hazards and OSHA, and 30-hour courses in construction, maritime and general industry safety and health hazards.

The voluntary Outreach Training Program has grown to a national network of more than 16,000 independent trainers eligible to teach workers and employers about workplace hazards and provide OSHA 10-hour course completion cards. The program’s success has prompted some states and cities to legislate a requirement that workers complete training to earn an OSHA 10-hour card as a condition of employment.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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Don Barker, the former health and safety manager for Boyd Gaming who quit his position in protest over the company’s handling of safety issues following the death of two workers at The Orleans, has had his authorization to teach Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety courses revoked by the federal government 

Barker was placed on a new OSHA “watch list” and can no longer teach federal safety courses after he was found to not be in compliance with program guidelines for OSHA-10 training, including advising students not to report safety hazards, the U.S. Labor Department announced last week.

Read more

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National News Release: 09-540-NAT
May 20, 2009
Contact: Diana Petterson
Phone: 202-693-1898

U.S. Labor Department’s OSHA strengthens integrity of Outreach Training Program

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in an effort to crack down on fraudulent trainers, is strengthening the integrity of its 36-year-old Outreach Training Program by improving how trainers become authorized to teach and ensuring these trainers are in compliance with OSHA program guidelines.

This voluntary program has grown to a national network of more than 16,000 independent trainers eligible to teach workers and employers about workplace hazards and to provide OSHA 10-hour course completion cards. However, some trainers have fraudulently not provided the appropriate training in accordance with the program.

“The use of independent trainers has allowed OSHA to significantly extend its training capabilities,” said Jordan Barab, acting assistant secretary of labor for OSHA. “But OSHA will not tolerate fraudulent activity or unscrupulous trainers when workers’ health and lives may be at stake.”

Trainers are authorized by completing a one-week OSHA trainer course through an OSHA Training Institute Education Center. The trainers are then eligible to teach 10-hour programs that provide basic information to workers and employers about workplace hazards and OSHA, and 30-hour courses in construction, maritime and general industry safety and health hazards.

The program’s success has prompted some states and cities to legislate a requirement that workers complete training to earn an OSHA 10-hour card as a condition of employment. Because this training is becoming a requirement for gaining employment, the program has experienced fraudulent activity.

OSHA has increased unannounced monitoring visits to verify that trainers are in compliance with program requirements. OSHA will continue to refer fraudulent activity to the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General, and trainers caught falsifying information will be subject to criminal prosecution. The public is asked to call a new outreach fraud hotline at 847-297-4810 to file complaints about program fraud and abuse. OSHA also has developed a new process for investigating and adjudicating complaints; and a “watch list” of outreach trainers who have received disciplinary action will be posted on OSHA’s public Web site at http://www.osha.gov.

OSHA began implementing other changes in 2008. These include requiring trainers to certify their classes and ensuring that training documentation is in accordance with OSHA’s guidelines before trainers can receive course completion cards. Tests for outreach training program trainer courses have been revised to ensure more rigorous exams for authorizing new trainers. OSHA is also developing an ethics module to be added to all trainer courses.

“Strengthening the integrity of the Outreach Training Program will help ensure that workers receive quality training, help them gain employment and return them home safely at the end of their workday,” said Barab.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to assure safe and healthful working conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education.

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Now reported in the Springfield MO Business Journal, that OSHA 10 hour trainers are cutting corners. This after a new Missouri state law is requiring contractors to have completed an OSHA 10 hour training program by August. According to the article OSHA’s Regional Administrator is receiving reports that OSHA Authorized Trainers are teaching the class in way less than 10 hours and that there may be incidents that cards are being provided to those who are not attending a class at all.

Read the entire article http://sbj.net/main.asp?SectionID=18&SubSectionID=23&ArticleID=84709&TM=44973.73

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Sunday’s June 15th 2008 edition of the New York Daily News reported that workers involved in erecting and dismantling towers cranes in New York City may not be qualified to be doing that type of work. A worker was found to have a fake OSHA 30 card that he received from his foreman.The Daily News article reported that:

In an email to all OSHA Education Centers the Director of OSHA Office of Training & Educational Programs - Jim Barnes tells all education centers to no longer provide extra 10 and 30 Hour cards to Outreach Trainers.

This is in response to OSHA’s frantic effort to tighten up controls after several instances of outreach trainers being caught issuing cards for pay without the participants attending the training program. There have been numerous accounts of extremely abbreviated classes (two hours instead of ten) or not being conducted at all. Interested parties just buy the card from the instructor. See this New York Daily News piece “OSHA Approved Trainer Sold Certification”  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/02/03/2009-02-03_osha_approved_trainer_sold_certification.html  and related articles such as “Corners cut and beers downed at Fed-run OSHA classes” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/01/31/2009-01-31_corners_cut_and_beers_downed_at_fedrun_o.html  as well as “This Course is Almost as Easy as Falling Off a Bar Stool” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/01/31/2009-01-31_this_course_is_almost_as_easy_as_falling.html .

Barnes states “As an additional control measure for the Outreach Training Program, OSHA has decided to discontinue the practice of supplying trainers with extra cards to be used as needed for replacements, misprints, etc. Effective immediately, requests for Outreach Training Program 10-hr and 30-hr (and 16-hr DSW) cards should be fulfilled for the exact number of students on the course report”.

Barnes goes on to say “Replacement cards may be issued to trainers only upon specific request. Trainer requests for replacement cards must be verified to ensure that they meet the criteria outlined in the Outreach Training Program guidelines.”

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New OSHA Outreach Training Program Guidelines AvailableOSHA has issued new Construction and General Industry Outreach Training Program guidelines replacing the 2003 versions for the 10 and 30 hour programs. Changes were made to the required content of the 10 and 30 hour training topics.  There are also changes to the Outreach Training Program report and additional recordkeeping and retention requirements for outreach trainers.  The guidelines affect an estimated 15,000 active outreach trainers and thousands of OSHA-authorized outreach trainers.  Authorized outreach trainers should go to the new OSHA Outreach page for details.