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Department Talks about OSHA 10 and First Violation

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>>AMY SUSAN: Hi, I'm Amy Susan, Director or Communications for the Missouri Department of Labor. On this week's edition of Labor Talk, a podcast where experts discuss workplace issues that effect your life, I'm joined here with Department Director Larry Rebman, to discuss the Prevailing Wage Law, as well as the ten-hour required safety training. Larry, welcome to the show.

>>LARRY REBMAN: Thanks for having me.

>>SUSAN: So, Larry, can you tell us about the news recently released this week, an investigation that took place, tell us about that.

>>REBMAN: Well, we had an investigation of a company out of Kansas City, Davlin Services of Kansas City, which had some violations of the OSHA 10 law as well as some prevailing wage violations. So we put out a press release talking about that trying to raise awareness in the community to make sure people are safe on these jobs.

>>SUSAN: How do we learn about cases such as this one?

>>REBMAN: Well, in this particular instance, as with most cases, we had a complaintant who called us up and said, "There's a problem, on a job site: the workers don't have the required safety training." We went out and investigated, and found that to be true.

>>SUSAN: Okay, how much money was recovered, through our efforts?

>>REBMAN: Well, on the safety violations about five thousand dollars. On the prevailing wage violations, that was about thirty-five thousand dollars.

>>SUSAN: Okay. Why is this specific case so important?

>>REBMAN: Well, it was the first one, number-primarily, and it was also a group of people that-that; there was sixteen workers on this job site that didn't have safety training. That was the entire crew.

>>SUSAN: First one, meaning? The first what?

>>REBMAN: This is the first violation we've found of the new OSHA 10 training law.

>>SUAN: And when was that law passed?

>>REBMAN: August 28th of 2009, it went into effect.

>>SUSAN: Can you tell us, for those who aren't familiar; what is a public works project?

>>REBMAN: A public works project is a construction project done by a public body, using public funds.

>>SUSAN: Okay. Tell us a bit more about this ten-hour training, and you already answered when the law went into effect, but what does this training entail?

>>REBMAN: Okay. We refer to it as OSHA 10, because there is an OSHA 10 training program out there that is sponsered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is a federal government program. Our training program is OSHA 10 compliant, or as astringent as OSHA 10. So, you don't have to have an OSHA 10 training program, but you have to have a training program that is as astringent as an OSHA 10 course. And, actually we encourage contractors to go out and tailor-make their programs to fit their job sites.

>>SUSAN: Okay. Who is required to take the training and when are they required to take it?

>>REBMAN: Anybody who steps onto a job site is required to have it, and they're supposed to get it within sixty days of stepping on that job site.

>>SUSAN: OKay. You already answered what the training entails, but when can one take the course and does it have to be approved by the department?

>>REBMAN: Anybody can take a course at any point and time. We have on our website a list of at least four providers that we know about, at labor-www.labor.mo.gov. You can go there and I think the Builders' Association, AGC, also has a training program. The program does have to be approved by the department, or taught by a certified OSHA 10 instructor.

>>SUSAN: Can those working on private construction projects take this class?

>>REBMAN: Well of course. It's just not required by the law.

>>SUSAN: Okay. Why is it so important for those working on public works projects take this safety course?

>>REBMAN: Well,the public works projects are projects that are designed to help the community. The community is harmed once someone is injured or killed on the job. So, we want our taxpayer money to be going towards building up the community, not hurting it in some way.

>>SUSAN: Okay. Thanks for joining us on the show. That was this week's edition of Labor Talk. If you would like to submit your questions or comments or concerns or other issues for us to discuss, please visit www.labor.mo.gov, click on News and Notices, and then click on Labor Talk Podcast.

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