OSHA: Safety Training Must Be in a Language Workers Understand

OSHA recently issued an enforcement memorandum directed at safety training for non-English speaking workers. The memo reiterates OSHA's policy that employee training required by OSHA standards must be presented in a manner that employees can understand.
In practical terms, this means employers must instruct employees using both a language and vocabulary the employees can understand. OSHA compliance officers are responsible for checking and verifying that employers have provided training to employees - and that the training was provided in a format the trainees could understand.

ComplianceSigns.com has made it easy to select alternate languages for common safety signs. Just use the drop-down menu below the sign to see what languages are available, or to request a different language.

To help employers with a Spanish-speaking workforce meet these obligations, OSHA has created a web-based assistance tool.

• Visit the OSHA Hispanic Outreach page.
• Read the full memo.
• Order English, Spanish and Bilingual OSHA signs at ComplianceSigns.com.