Overview
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) role is to assure these conditions by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education and assistance. Operating procedures and instructions are important for training personnel. Personnel need to have a full understanding of operating procedures to safely perform their assigned duties. If workers are not fluent in English, then procedures and instructions need to be prepared in a second language understood by the personnel (1910.1030(g)(2)(vi)). Material appropriate in content and vocabulary to educational level, literacy and language of employees must be used. Providing all hazard information in the primary language of the intended audience and in a format that is targeted to the audience’s educational and literacy level is essential to the comprehension of the information.