What are the responsibilities of employers and employees under OSHA safety and health training requirement?

• A. Employees must participate and apply training to work safely
• B. Employers must provide appropriate training; employees must participate and apply training to work safely
• C. The state agency provides all training and employees must attend
• D. Only supervisors are responsible for training; workers are not required to participate

Answer: (B)

Two parts matter here: who provides the training and who uses it. OSHA requires that employers provide training that is appropriate for the hazards workers will face, and that employees participate in that training and then apply what they learned to work safely.

From the employer's side, the responsibility isn’t just to hand out a manual or clock a training hour. It’s to identify the specific hazards in the job, deliver clear instruction on safe practices, PPE, emergency procedures, and how to control or avoid those hazards, and to verify that workers actually understand and can perform tasks safely. Training should occur before workers handle hazards, and retraining is needed when procedures change or when performance indicates gaps. Documentation and accessibility are also part of ensuring the training is effective.

From the employee’s side, participation means attending the training, paying attention, asking questions if anything isn’t understood, and, most importantly, applying the information on the job. That means following safe procedures, using PPE correctly, and speaking up about hazards or discrepancies.

That combination—employers providing appropriate training and employees actively participating and applying what they learn—best captures OSHA’s training responsibilities.

Other options aren’t correct because training is not provided solely by a state agency in most cases, training isn’t the responsibility of only supervisors, and workers are indeed required to participate and use the training to stay safe.