In an effort to crack down on fraudulent trainers, OSHA 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.
OSHA Wants to Reduce Lead Exposure in Workplace
OSHA’s Kansas City office has launched a special regional emphasis
program aimed at reducing occupational exposure to lead,
one of the leading causes of workplace illnesses.
The potential for lead exposure depends on the industry, but
generally speaking, lead is an ingredient in thousands of products widely used, including lead-based paints,
lead solder, electrical fittings and conduits,
tank linings and plumbing fixtures.
Some common operations that can generate
lead dust and fumes include demolition
operations; flame-torch cutting;
welding; use of heat guns, sanders, scrapers,
or grinders to remove lead paint; and
abrasive blasting of steel structures.
“Occupational exposure to lead continues
to be one of the most prevalent overexposures
found throughout industry,” said
Charles E. Adkins, OSHA’s regional administrator
in Kansas City. “It is imperative
we do all we can to reduce that
exposure to workers. This special regional
emphasis program will serve to amplify
OSHA’s commitment to ensuring the safety
and health of workers in all occupations.”
This program will set targeted inspections
in industries or workplaces where there is a
potential for lead exposure, and also will
cover complaints and referrals regarding
lead exposure.
Lead is a potent, systemic poison that
serves no known useful function once absorbed
by the body. It is well-documented that lead adversely affects numerous body
systems – including damage to blood-forming,
nervous, urinary and reproductive systems
– and causes forms of health
impairment and disease that can arise from
acute or chronic exposure.
For more information on OSHA’s lead
standards, visit www.osha.gov/SLTC/lead.
Legal Considerations for
Companies’ Pandemic-Response
With rising concerns about the global
H1N1 flu pandemic, all U.S. employers, especially
those with multinational operations,
need to determine how best to tackle complex
legal issues raised by the illness, according
to an international labor law
attorney.
Importantly, any international policies
created to deal with potential issues caused
by a flu pandemic must take into account
the local legal requirements of other countries,
said Darren Gardner, International Labor
& Employment Attorney at Seyfarth
Shaw, LLP.
“These legal requirements can include
obligations relating to employee consultation/
notification, health and safety, workers’
compensation, working hours, overtime and
leave, data protection/privacy laws, and
business continuity plans—which can differ
in every jurisdiction where the company
has operations,” said Gardner.
“Employers must review any existing
employment policies, benefit plans, employment
contracts/offer letters, collective
agreements, and applicable legislation to ensure
that they are aware of potential legal
consequences before a pandemic strikes—
or, as importantly, before implementing a
plan to deal with it.”
Gardner recommends consideration of
the following:
Employee Consultation/Notification Requirements:
Some countries impose affirmative
obligations on employers to consult
with and listen to employees on issues affecting
their work, including arrangements
to address a pandemic situation.
For example,
where an employer’s European operations
have works councils, employers may
be obliged to consult with them before any
flu-response policy can be put into effect.
Similarly, most multinational employers are now aware that the labor law changes at the
beginning of last year in China now mean
that employees (or their union) need to be
consulted about any important changes to
or introductions of employee policies. Employers
must also be prepared for situations
where local laws give employees and/or
their representatives a right to be heard or
to be consulted on the issue because it is a
health and safety issue.
Employee Health and Safety: Almost
universally, employers are obliged to provide
their employees with a workplace
that is safe and without risks. This responsibility
includes responding to new
or evolving situations that may pose a
risk to employees. A pandemic is almost
certain to require additional actions by the
multinational employer. Not only do ill
employees pose a potential risk to themselves
by continuing to work, but they of
course place others in the workplace at
risk. Appropriate risk-mitigation strategies
are needed. However, actions designed
to help protect employees can lead
to other legal issues.
Workers’ compensation arrangements differ from country to country. Some are
provided through private insurance; some
are run by the government; some are a
combination of the two. In principle, illnesses
contracted at work should be
treated no differently than any other injury
suffered while working. A response
to workers’ compensation issues that is
appropriate to an employer’s headquarters
may not be appropriate in other
countries.
Working Hours, Leave, and Work Attendance:
The circumstances of a pandemic
may require an employer to direct employees
to stay away from work. This may occur
for a number of reasons. As a result,
key considerations for an effective pandemic-
response policy include how to address
a reduction in working hours or
temporary business closure, and any related
issues, such as employee compensation
during a temporary reduction or closure.
This is particularly relevant because many
countries will require employee consent before
work hours or compensation can be
reduced.
If considering allowing or requiring employees to work from home, employers
need to implement appropriate safeguards
to monitor and manage employee performance,
and to protect the employer’s ability
to comply with all the legal issues
associated with having employees working
from home. These include ensuring compliance
with overtime and working hour’s
laws (which are different from country to
country), payment of allowances or expenses
incurred by the employee in working
at home, ensuring occupational safety
for the employee working at home, privacy,
and other legal and operational requirements.
Many countries will require
employee consent to a change in the work
location and can require that this consent
be formally documented in a specific
agreement.
Expat employees working on assignment
overseas may request/demand that they be
returned home; yet there may be no job for
the employee at home.
Finally, employers must consider how
they will address any potential work refusals
or failure to attend work by employees who
are neither ill nor eligible to take leave(s).
