Hi everybody, I have a question and can't seem to find the answer anywhere.  My company recently purchased 5 warehouses from another company.  We are going to keep 100% of the employees through the transition, now on our payroll.  I am requesting that the old company give us the employee training records so we can have them on file.  The old company is refusing stating it is their records.  Is there anything that says the training records should go to us because we now house the employee, or am I out of luck and need to retrain over 700 workers. Thanks

As far as transfer of records, I don't think they have to unless there was something in the sales agreement that said they would. I certainly hope who ever was doing the negotiating and due diligence would have covered that along with viewing training records to see that the employees were properly trained.

From the day the transition took place and the people are on your payroll, OSHA would look at it as they are now yours and what happens from that day forward is now your responsibility and hold your company accountable. I don't think they would look at it any differently than if you hired someone from an ad in the paper that worked a facility similar as yours that required a lot of the same training. Would you want to rely on previous training?

Things I would consider even if I got the old training records:  

Were they trained properly?  How do you verify that?  

What risk am I willing to take?

 

Just my .02

I concur wholly.  There is risk no matter how you slcie this.  Remember OSHA is clear it is the employer's responsibility to ensure their personnel are trained properly and are competent.

That said, one method that has worked for me (union construction organization) is testing-out employees.  I have used some gewneric exams for things like forklifts, scissor-lifts, lock-out/tag-out (but not for complex procedures, I hold site meetings for these), and other topics.

I don't know if they are union or not, but at least in a union setting I know what kind of training the union has provided...thus we stay vigilant by testing.  This will also provide a method for identifying gaps that you could consider further training and KSA improvement needs.

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If people had common sense, I'd have a different career!

the answer is no

On one hand, you should try to get the records; On the other hand, train them youself. The previous training records can be a plus, while the trainings offered by you are necessary.