Safety regulations approved for convention services workers

The Division of Industrial Relations on Tuesday announced updates to Section 618 of the Nevada Administrative Code related to occupational safety and health training requirements for workers in the convention services industry. The updated regulations provide guidance and details on the statutory requirements found in Nevada Revised Statute Sections 618.9920 – 618.9931.

During the last legislative session, lawmakers adopted Senate Bill 119, which established requirements for certain workers and supervisors in the convention services industries to obtain training on relevant safety and health issues within 15 days of starting work in the industry. Workers who perform construction, installation, maintenance, operation, repair or removal of trade show or exhibition displays must be trained.

The bill aligns with previously enacted rules mandating similar training requirements for workers in the construction and entertainment industries. All construction and general industry 10- and 30-hour training programs approved by the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration will satisfy the training requirements for the convention services industry.

The intent of the training requirement is to provide workers who are regularly exposed to workplace safety and health hazards with basic information about how to identify and avoid injuries and illnesses commonly associated with their work. Convention services combine elements of construction and general industry work, making both construction and general industry training programs suitable to provide awareness level training to workers.

The statutory requirements mandating training for convention services workers became effective Jan. 1, 2020. The newly adopted sections of the NAC became effective on Jan. 21, 2021, following a series of public meetings and solicitation of public comment on the regulations. The updated regulations are available for review at http://dir.nv.gov/OSHA.

Training information, course registration for free state-sponsored training and a list of approved private industry training providers can be found on the Division of Industrial Relations Safety Consultation and Training Section’s 10- and 30-Hour OSHA Training website at http://nv1030.org. Free training sessions provided by SCATS fill quickly and are offered based on space-limited availability requiring advanced registration.