Many OSHA standards include training requirements, and many employers assume that training must be repeated annually, but that’s not always the case. The following OSHA general industry rules include annual training or employee information requirements:
- Access to employee exposure and medical records – 1910.1020(g)(1) [employee information]
- Bloodborne pathogens – 1910.1030(g)(2)(ii)(C) [and 1910.1030(e)(2)(ii)(M) for HIV and HBV research and production facilities]
- Fire brigades – 1910.156(c)(2) and Appendix A, paragraph 5
- Fixed extinguishing systems – 1910.160(b)(10)
- Grain handling facilities – 1910.272(e)(1)
- Hazardous waste operations and emergency response (HAZWOPER) – 1910.120(e)(8), (p)(7)(i) and (ii), (p)(8)(ii)(C), (q)(5), (q)(8)(i), and Appendix C.2 (training)
- Mechanical power presses – 1910.217(h)(13)(i) [applies to PSDI operation mode]
- Occupational noise exposure – 1910.95(k)(2)
- Permit-required confined spaces – 1910.146(k)(2)(iv) [practice rescue drills]
- Portable fire extinguishers – 1910.157(g)(2) and (g)(4)
- Respiratory protection – 1910.134(k)(5)
In addition, most of the chemical-specific regulations in Subpart Z require annual training. The only chemical-specific Subpart Z regulations that do not require annual training are:
- 1910.1002 – coal tar pitch volatiles,
- 1910.1026 – hexavalent chromium,
- 1910.1052 – methylene chloride,
- 1910.1053 – respirable
crystalline silica, and - 1910.1096 – ionizing radiation (though the employer must advise employees of their ionizing radiation monitoring results annually).
Finally, the process safety management standard (1910.119) and the powered industrial trucks standard (1910.178(l)) require training or evaluation every three years.
Training on a particular topic depends on whether the rule applies to the work your employees perform. For example, if no employees work in confined spaces, training is not required. Note that employers in OSHA state plan states may have additional training requirements.
Although most regulations don’t require annual or refresher training, conducting regular training is a best practice. In particular, if you notice employees aren’t working safely, or if workplace conditions change, you may need to deliver refresher training.
