The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires training for employees who do any kind of hazardous work. Missing out on training will penalize your company with fines and expose your team to hazards. To keep your team OSHA-compliant, here are the top 10 free OSHA training courses.
OSHA requires that you train your employees on their listed standards or else your company will be fined. As of 2024, OSHA fines around 16,100 USD for each violation of their standards. The fine for a repeated or willful violation can go up to 161,323 USD. Though the fines are huge, the real consequence to not following these standards is increasing your team’s risk of life-changing accidents.
These standards are mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. This law states that employees must maintain a safe worksite free from major dangers. Their employees must be trained on and comply with any OSHA standards for their particular task and associated hazards. These standards are guidelines and pointers for employees to do their work without any chance of accidents.
The best way for your team to practice these standards is through frequent OSHA compliance training. For their safety and observance, your team should always be up to date with the most recent OSHA training. Even if your team is well-trained, annual refresher training is recommended to keep your team aware of common hazards and new safety regulations.
What are the OSHA training requirements?
Employees need training when they get hired and once every year after that for a refresher. The topic of their training depends on their job. For example, some courses go over a specific hazard like coke oven missions, while others discuss a safety practice like PPE. Though it’s not required for all OSHA topics, you should always keep a record of when your team does training.
If you need a guide, OSHA has released an online booklet titled Training Requirements in OSHA Standards. It covers all the OSHA standards for five industries: general industry, maritime, construction, agriculture, and federal employee programs. Though it’s a comprehensive course, the booklet was published in 2015, so it’s important to check the most recent standards for your specific industry.
Your team should be retrained outside of annual refresher training when a new worksite change happens or when a task requires new equipment or techniques. If your employees aren’t following OSHA-approved practices, they should be retrained immediately to avoid fines and accidents.
How to get OSHA certified
OSHA doesn’t certify employees for training based on their standards. Instead, they authorize trainers to teach courses in the OSHA Outreach Training Program. They offer 10-hour and 30-hour courses for entry-level workers and supervisors, respectively. The courses go over the general hazards and safety practices for a specific industry.
But, outreach training isn’t sufficient for OSHA’s training requirements, as it’s the employer who’s required to train their team. A certification from the OSHA Outreach Program is also not a hard requirement for being compliant with OSHA’s standards. However, a certification may be required for a job application, like an OSHA 10-hour course completion card.
Though there’s no official OSHA certification, the best way to keep your team OSHA-compliant is for each of your employees to be fully trained on their specific job: the process, the risks, and the needed equipment. Additional training can help create more competent persons on your team. These are highly capable team members who can perform inspections, recognize hazards, and make safety recommendations to the supervisor.
Upskill your team with free OSHA training courses
OSHA is the top authority for workplace safety and hazards. It’s always a priority for your team to follow its most recent standards and advisories. Annual OSHA training will also help improve their performance and productivity, creating a safer and more efficient work site.
Make your next OSHA training session an engaging learning experience with Mitti (by SafetyCulture). With powerful trainee management tools and gamification templates, training can be simple and fun. Sign up now to conduct the best free OSHA training program.