training provider should not ordinarily give rise to a situation that permits an injured employee to circumvent the U.S. workers’ compensation benefits system. • If a non-employer third-party trainer (“NE3PT”) fails to provide adequate safety training as required by OSHA standards, and such failure to provide the adequate training causes injury to an employee, the NE3PT may be subject to liability for negligence claims that are brought against it by either the injured employee or the employer who retained the NE3PT’s services. • IF: (i) a provider of trainer certifications (“PTC”) issues a trainer certification to a NE3PT without having fully ensured that the NE3PT satisfies certification requirements; (ii) the improperly certified NE3PT fails to provide adequate safety training to employees as required by OSHA standards; and (iii) the NE3PT’s failure to provide adequate training results in injury to an employee, THEN: (a) the PCT may be subject to liability for negligence claims that are brought against it by either the injured employee or the employer who retained the NE3PT’s services (and perhaps even by the NE3PT); and (b) the NE3PT may be subject to liability for negligence claims that are brought against it by either the injured employee or the employer who retained the NE3PT’s services. It is because of the theoretical conclusions presented above that both NE3PT and PCT organizations can be expected to take thoughtful precautions to defend themselves against potential liability. Chief among these precautions is most likely to be the creation of mandatory contracting provisions that are similar in intent to what OSHA itself has said about its own Construction Industry Outreach Training Programs ( i.e ., they do not meet training requirements for any OSHA Standard). -- END --
† This memorandum is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. The opinions expressed in this memorandum are the opinions of the author and may not reflect the opinions of the firm or any individual attorney. i The OSH Act covers most private sector employers and their employees in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories. Coverage is provided either directly by the Federal OSHA or by an OSHA-approved state job safety and health plan. The OSH Act does not cover self-employed persons; farms that employee only immediate members of the farmer’s family; working conditions for which other Federal agencies (operating under authority of other Federal laws) regulate worker safety (e.g., mining, nuclear energy); or, employees of state and local governments, unless they are in one of the states operating an OSHA-approved state plan. See U NITED S TATES D EPARTMENT OF L ABOR , S AFETY AND H EALTH S TANDARDS : O CCUPATIONAL S AFETY AND H EALTH (“O CCUPATIONAL S AFETY AND H EALTH ”) available at https://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/elg/osha.htm.
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