Would You Like a Beer With That OSHA Training?

A federally-run mandatory safety training program for 125,000 New York construction workers has been described as dangerously negligent in carrying out its stated purpose of preventing death and injury, the result of a New York Daily News reporter’s undercover investigation.

The reporter enrolled in a 10-hour OSHA course in the Bronx and found hours of instruction substituted by cat naps, skipped lessons and discussion periods with frequent breaks so attendees could grab a beer from the bar below the training classroom.

“Cheating is rampant. I hear lots of stories about guys getting OSHA cards in the back of a bar,” Martin Daly, head of training for the District Council of Carpenters told The News.

The $125 safety course was designed to prevent the types of construction accidents that have killed 19 people and injured 181 others last year alone.

But The News reporter found that instead of fostering, discussing and outlining procedures to deal with live electricity or prevent falls the course trainer simply showed the class a few videos and slideshows.

The 10-hour course was supposed to take three days. Instead, it clocked in at two hours and 17 minutes, according to The News.

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