Worker safety rights under the OSH Act

For all employees, new hires, young and temporary workers: know your rights to a safe workplace, training, records, complaints and protection from retaliation, and how to use them.

For: All employees, especially new hires, young workers and temporary workers, and the supervisors who work with them

  • 2 contact hours
  • 6 modules
  • 7 interactives
  • 5 job aids
  • Updated October 11, 2026

What you will be able to do

  • Explain employer and employee responsibilities under the OSH Act and determine whether federal OSHA or a State Plan covers a workplace.
  • Use your rights to training in a language you understand and to the OSHA 300 Log and your exposure and medical records, including the deadlines for access.
  • File a confidential OSHA safety complaint and a timely whistleblower complaint, including the 30-day Section 11(c) deadline.
  • Determine when a refusal to perform dangerous work is likely protected under 29 CFR 1977.12 and the steps to take.
  • Apply added protections for young workers under FLSA child labor rules and for temporary workers under OSHA's joint-responsibility approach.
  • Report injuries and hazards and recognize retaliation, including practices that discourage reporting.

Learn what the Occupational Safety and Health Act requires of your employer and what it guarantees you: a workplace free from recognized serious hazards, training in a language you understand, access to injury logs and to your exposure and medical records, the right to file a confidential OSHA complaint, a limited right to refuse imminently dangerous work, and protection from retaliation with a 30-day filing deadline under Section 11(c).

Built for all employees, with extra attention to new hires, young workers and temporary workers. You will practice requesting records, filing a complaint, recognizing retaliation, deciding whether a refusal is protected at an unprotected trench, and applying federal child labor rules and OSHA's joint-responsibility rule for staffing agencies and host employers.

The course is practical and plain-spoken: real deadlines, real scripts and real examples, with job aids including a rights pocket card, an injury report you keep a copy of, a hazard report and a worker hazard checklist. It explains State Plan differences so you know where to turn wherever you work.

What you’ll be able to do Monday morning

  1. Find the OSHA or State Plan rights poster at your workplace.
  2. Save OSHA's number, 1-800-321-6742, and the whistleblower complaint page.
  3. Ask how to report an injury and keep a copy of any report you make.
  4. Ask for the 300 Log or your exposure records if you want them, in writing.
  5. Start a dated log of any safety concerns you raise.
  6. If you supervise minors or temps, check their tasks against the rules in Module 6.

Curriculum

6 modules · 24 lessons · about 2 contact hours

01What must your employer do under the OSH Act, and who is covered?Free preview14 min
  1. What is the OSH Act, and what does it promise?
  2. What does that mean in day-to-day terms?
  3. Who is covered, and what are State Plans?
  4. What are your own responsibilities?
  • Self-assessment: Know your rights check

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

02What information, training and records can you get?15 min
  1. What training are you entitled to?
  2. What injury and illness records can you see?
  3. What exposure and medical records can you get?
  4. What can you do if you don't get the information?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the issues: an employer's records response

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

03How do you raise a concern or file an OSHA complaint?14 min
  1. Should you raise it with your employer first?
  2. How do you file an OSHA safety and health complaint?
  3. Will your employer know it was you?
  4. What if the danger is immediate?
  • Matching activity: Match the right to its source

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

04What counts as retaliation, and how do you file a whistleblower complaint?15 min
  1. What does Section 11(c) protect?
  2. What does retaliation look like?
  3. How and when do you file a whistleblower complaint?
  4. What happens after you file?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the issues: a supervisor's memo

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

05When can you refuse dangerous work?14 min
  1. Is there a right to refuse dangerous work?
  2. What steps should you take?
  3. What does and doesn't qualify?
  4. How do refusing work and retaliation connect?
  • Decision tree: Is my refusal likely protected?
  • Branching scenario: At the trench

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

06What extra protections apply to young, temporary and new workers, and how do you report injuries safely?15 min
  1. What protects young workers?
  2. What must employers do for young workers under OSHA?
  3. Who protects temporary and staffing-agency workers?
  4. How do you report injuries without fear?
  • Sort activity: Protected activity or adverse action?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

Final assessment: 23 questions, 80% to pass, then your certificate

Try it now, no account needed

At the trench

A branching scenario from this course. Your choices are not saved.

Free sample activity

At the trench

You lay pipe for a utility contractor. The foreman tells you to climb into an 8-foot trench with vertical walls and no trench box to connect a fitting. A crack has opened along the top edge.

Inside the course

Practice activities

  • Self-assessment1
  • Decision tree1
  • Branching scenario1
  • Spot the issue2
  • Sort activity1
  • Matching activity1

Job aids you keep

  • Worker Hazard and Rights ChecklistChecklist
  • Work Injury or Illness Report (Employee Copy)Template
  • Hazard Report and JHA StarterWorksheet
  • Worker Rights Training Sign-Off RecordLog
  • Your OSHA Rights Pocket CardPocket card

Credit and approval status

Certificate of completion

This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It has not been approved or accredited by OSHA, any OSHA State Plan, IACET or any other accreditor, and it is not OSHA Outreach Training Program (10- or 30-hour) training. It is awareness training on worker rights; it does not replace the site-specific hazard training employers must provide under OSHA standards, and it is not legal advice. Check with your employer whether this course can count toward your training needs.

Pathways we are pursuing or may pursue include continuing education units issued by a provider accredited under the IACET standard. No approval exists today; any approval will be shown on this page only after it is granted.

Our full approvals list

Questions about this course

Is this course approved for continuing education or as required OSHA training?

No approval exists today. You receive a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It is awareness training, not OSHA Outreach (10- or 30-hour) training, and it doesn't replace the site-specific training employers must give under OSHA standards. Check whether your employer accepts it.

Who should take this course?

All employees, especially new hires, young workers and temporary workers, as well as supervisors who want to understand what workers are entitled to and how to respond when workers use their rights.

Does it give legal advice about my situation?

No. It explains federal rights and deadlines in plain language and points you to OSHA, your State Plan, the Department of Labor and other resources. For advice on a specific situation, contact OSHA or an employment attorney.

What if my state runs its own OSHA program?

Your rights are at least as strong, and some states add more. The course explains how State Plans work and the special filing rules for retaliation complaints in State Plan states. Check your state agency for details.

How long does it take, and how do I get my certificate?

About 2 hours: six modules, interactive practice, knowledge checks and a 23-question final assessment. Score 80% or higher to download your certificate of completion.

Is it available in other languages?

The course is currently in English. OSHA's position is that safety training must be in a language you understand, so if English is not your strongest language, ask your employer for training in your language as well.

This course is general education and training awareness from CE Courses Hub. It is not legal, medical or professional advice and does not replace your employer's policies, your licensing board's rules, or advice from a qualified professional. Completing it earns a certificate of completion for the stated contact hours; it is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency or accreditor unless an approval is shown on the course page. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.