Federal work-safety advocates are cracking down on the employer practice of cramming safety training sessions in to unreasonably long work days. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration has instituted a new rule, effective immediately, which requires its 10-hour safety classes be conducted over two work days and its 30-hour program be taught over a minimum of four days.
Our Georgia workers’ compensation lawyers know that many employers loath reducing productivity for mandatory safety training, even in good economic times. Since the start of the recession, safety training in the workplace has been under even more pressure. The government reports 16-hour safety training days were becoming commonplace, likely robbing employees of the ability to process information meant to keep them safe on the job.”Limiting daily class hours will help ensure that workers receive and retain quality safety training,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels.
Federal authorities were also concerned that the time requirements for the 10-hour and 30-hour classes were not being met in 1-day and 3-day training sessions by the time lunch breaks and other downtime were scheduled.
The new policy goes into effect immediately and OSHA will no longer recognize training in excess of 7.5 hours a day. OSHA has established a safety training fraud hotline where employees can report abuse.
The Outreach Training Program utilizes a network of 17,000 independent trainers that teach workers and employees about OSHA, workers’ rights and how to avoid workplace hazards and accidents. Construction, general industry and maritime have 10- and 30-hour training sessions, while disaster-site workers undergo 16-hours of training.
The Atlanta work accident lawyers at the Law Offices of J. Franklin Burns, P.C., have the knowledge and experience to help clients obtain all of the benefits to which they are entitled under the Georgia workers’ compensation program. For a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights, call 678-298-0323.
