North Carolina Labor Laws
The North Carolina Department of Labor administers and maintains the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Division (NC OSH), which covers most public and private-sector employees in the state.
The NC OSH Division is divided into four bureaus:
- Compliance Bureau
- Consultative Services Bureau
- Education, Training and Technical Assistance Bureau
- Planning, Statistics and Information Management Bureau
A primary function of NC OSH is to have the Compliance Bureau conduct random inspections of North Carolina businesses to ensure the workplaces follow all safety and health standards. It conducts about 4,500 inspections each year.
Certain North Carolina employees are outside the jurisdiction of NC OSH. These include:
- Federal employees
- United States Postal Service employees
- Private sector maritime employees
- Workers employed on Indian reservations
- Railroad workers
- Military base employees
- American National Red Cross employees
All of the above are subject to federal OSHA standards and regulations.
Benefits of Online North Carolina OSHA Training
Online NC OSHA training is a convenient and effective education option for workers who need to satisfy employer training requirements.
While classroom courses are offered throughout the state, training online with OSHA Education Center guarantees high-quality, interactive education for every student, with downloadable practice quizzes, course trainer access and customer support.
North Carolina OSHA courses consist of a 10- or 30-hour OSHA Outreach course paired with three hours of NC OSHA training required by the state. By bundling our NC OSHA training with OSHA-authorized training, we can provide students an official OSHA card and ensure they are properly trained according to state guidelines.
After completing your training, you'll receive your North Carolina OSHA certificate and an OSHA Outreach training certificate. Your official OSHA DOL wallet card, printed on durable plastic, will arrive in the mail.
North Carolina OSHA Courses
We offer industry-specific versions of OSHA-authorized training alongside dedicated training on required safety and health topics for North Carolina workers. Workers in the construction field should complete construction training, and those in most other industries should take the general industry course.
The 10-hour courses are designed for entry-level workers. If you are a supervisor or have certain safety responsibilities, you should take a 30-hour course.
Learn more about our online NC OSHA courses:
What You Get
- Instantly Downloadable Course Certificates
- Official OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 Card
- Email Access to an OSHA-Authorized Course Trainer
North Carolina Top OSHA Violations
In recent years, the leading industries for workplace fatalities in North Carolina have been the construction and transportation/warehousing industries. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the private construction industry had the greatest number of worker fatalities in 2020 with 43 deaths. Falls, slips and trips accounted for 15 of these deaths.
Just behind construction is the private transportation and warehousing industry, which had 26 fatal injuries in 2020. The freight trucking industry group experienced 58 percent of all fatal injuries in the transportation and warehousing industry.
Nationwide, the most cited OSHA safety and health standard, which also receives the highest penalties, is fall prevention in construction. Falls commonly cause serious work-related injuries and deaths, and OSHA enforces specific safety standards to help prevent them.
OSHA Guidelines
OSHA's purpose is to provide safe conditions for workers. OSHA sets very broad and general regulations that most businesses must follow, as well as more detailed standards for specific industries, from construction to cosmetology and beyond.
Receiving OSHA training has benefits beyond meeting requirements and keeping employees safe. It leads to healthier employees with more ease of mind, which increases productivity. Boosting morale, it reduces turnover and the time and resources spent on recruiting and training replacements. It reduces productive workers' time away from the job due to injury and illness. This is all in addition to helping protect you from OSHA's retribution, as it can levy heavy fines for not following the standards presented in OSHA Education Center’s courses.
Further Reading and Resources
