OSHA 10-Hour Construction — All Questions

Under the OSH Act of 1970, what is the primary purpose of OSHA?

• a.To provide workers' compensation insurance to injured employees
• b.To assure safe and healthful working conditions by setting and enforcing standards✓
• c.To set minimum wage rates for construction workers
• d.To license contractors before they can bid on public projects

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created OSHA to assure safe and healthful working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance. Wages, licensing, and workers' compensation are handled by other agencies.

Which of the following is a worker right protected under OSHA?

• a.The right to receive information and training about hazards in their language✓
• b.The right to refuse any assignment they personally dislike
• c.The right to set their own safety standards on the job
• d.The right to be paid double time for hazardous work

Workers have the right to receive information and training about job hazards, methods to prevent harm, and the OSHA standards that apply, provided in a language and vocabulary they can understand. OSHA rights do not include refusing disliked tasks or setting personal standards; premium pay is not an OSHA right.

The General Duty Clause of the OSH Act requires employers to do what?

• a.Provide health insurance to all full-time employees
• b.Report every minor first-aid injury to OSHA within 24 hours
• c.Furnish a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm✓
• d.Guarantee that no worker will ever be injured on the job

Section 5(a)(1), the General Duty Clause, requires each employer to furnish a place of employment free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm. It applies especially when no specific standard covers a hazard. It is not an absolute guarantee against all injury.

How can a worker file a complaint to request an OSHA inspection of their workplace?

• a.Only by hiring a private attorney to sue the employer
• b.Only after they have already been injured on the job
• c.Only through their state governor's office
• d.By contacting OSHA online, by phone, by mail, or in person, and it can be kept confidential✓

Workers can file a complaint with OSHA online, by phone, by fax/mail, or in person at a local office, and can request that their name be kept confidential. A worker does not need to be injured first, and it is illegal for the employer to retaliate against a worker for filing a complaint.

If an employer receives an OSHA citation, what are they generally required to do?

• a.Post the citation at or near the location of the violation and correct the hazard by the abatement date✓
• b.Immediately shut down the entire company permanently
• c.Ignore it unless a worker was seriously injured
• d.Pay the fine directly to the workers who reported it

After a citation is issued, the employer must post it at or near the place where the violation occurred and abate (correct) the hazard by the deadline listed. Employers may contest citations, but they cannot simply ignore them. Penalties are paid to OSHA, not to individual workers.