9.2 Nevada Mandatory 10-Hour & 30-Hour Construction Safety Cards (NRS 618.983)
Key Takeaways
Under NRS 618.983, a construction worker who is not a supervisor must obtain an OSHA-10 completion card within 15 days after being hired.
Under NRS 618.983, a supervisory employee must obtain an OSHA-30 completion card within 15 days after being hired.
NRS 618.950 to 618.990 set no expiration date for construction completion cards; the 5-year expiration and renewal rules apply to the entertainment-industry and convention-services card laws instead.
Under NRS 618.987, an employer must suspend or terminate a construction worker or supervisor who does not present a current, valid completion card within 15 days after hire.
NRS 618.990 fines an employer that fails to suspend or terminate up to $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for a second, then treats a third violation as willful; violations found in one day count as one.
Background: Nevada's Construction Safety Card Law
In 2009, after a series of worker deaths on large Las Vegas Strip projects, the Legislature passed the law now codified at NRS 618.950 to 618.990 ("Mandatory OSHA-10 and OSHA-30 Training for Construction Industry"). It made OSHA outreach training mandatory for workers and supervisors on Nevada construction sites.
Exam Focus: Know the numbers: 15 days after hire, OSHA-10 for workers, OSHA-30 for supervisors, the employer's suspend-or-terminate duty, and the $500 / $1,000 / willful fine schedule.
Who Is Covered
Construction Worker (NRS 618.957)
A construction worker is a person who actually performs physical work at a construction site that results in the construction, alteration or destruction involved in the project, including painting and decorating, or who supervises such work. A construction site is any location where construction work is being started or is in progress (NRS 618.953).
Excluded: Work done for the upkeep of an existing property that has a certificate of occupancy, to keep it in its original condition or operational soundness, including repairing components or replacing them with the same or similar components.
Typical covered trades include carpenters, framers, drywall installers and tapers, electricians, plumbers and pipefitters, masons and concrete finishers, ironworkers and welders, equipment operators, painters, and laborers, apprentices and helpers.
Supervisory Employee (NRS 618.967)
A supervisory employee has authority, in the employer's interest, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, adjust their grievances, or effectively recommend those actions. The authority must require independent judgment, not routine or clerical action, and must occupy a significant portion of the workday. Foremen and superintendents who direct crews typically qualify.
Exemption
The construction card law does not apply to the Nevada Department of Transportation or its employees performing their duties (NRS 618.970).
The Card Requirements (NRS 618.983)
| Who | Course | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Construction worker (not a supervisor) | OSHA-10: a 10-hour course in construction safety and health hazard recognition and prevention developed by federal OSHA (NRS 618.960) | Completion card not later than 15 days after hire |
| Supervisory employee | OSHA-30: the 30-hour construction course | Completion card not later than 15 days after hire |
The course must be one the Division of Industrial Relations has approved (NRS 618.977).
New hire on a Nevada construction site
|
+-- Supervisory employee? --> No --> OSHA-10 card within 15 days after hire
| --> Yes --> OSHA-30 card within 15 days after hire
|
+-- Card not presented by day 15 --> employer must suspend or terminate (NRS 618.987)
Course Content
The OSHA-10 construction course covers hazard recognition, with emphasis on the Focus Four: falls, struck-by, caught-in or -between, and electrocution. It also covers PPE and health hazards. The OSHA-30 course adds deeper coverage for supervisors, including safety program management, excavations, concrete and masonry, steel erection, cranes and rigging, and confined spaces.
Do Construction Cards Expire?
No expiration is set in the construction card statutes. NRS 618.983 requires workers and supervisors to obtain the card within 15 days after hire, and NRS 618.987 requires them to present a "current and valid" card. Neither the construction sections nor their definitions set an expiration period.
The 5-year expiration with renewal by a new course or continuing education (5 hours for OSHA-10, 15 hours for OSHA-30) appears in other Nevada card laws: the entertainment industry (NRS 618.9911) and convention services (NRS 618.9929). Do not carry those rules over to construction.
Trainers and the State Registry
- Who May Teach: Only a trainer may provide OSHA-10 or OSHA-30 courses. For construction, that means a person authorized by federal OSHA, including someone who completed OSHA 500, the trainer course for the construction industry (NRS 618.980).
- Trainer Duties: Each trainer must register with the Division, display the trainer card where courses are taught, and report to the Division the name of each person who completes a course.
- Public Registry: The Division keeps an online registry of trainers and of people who completed the courses, so anyone can verify a worker's completion (NRS 618.977). The registry's cost may not be charged to the workers.
Employer Duties (NRS 618.987)
- Workers: If a construction worker who is not a supervisor fails to present a current and valid OSHA-10 card within 15 days after being hired, the employer shall suspend or terminate the worker.
- Supervisors: If a supervisory employee fails to present a current and valid OSHA-30 card within 15 days after being hired, the employer shall suspend or terminate that person.
- Best Practice: Check each card against photo ID, keep copies in the jobsite file, and track hire dates so no one works past day 15 without a card. On multi-employer sites, general contractors commonly require subcontractors to certify compliance.
Penalties (NRS 618.990)
If the Division finds that an employer failed to suspend or terminate an employee as NRS 618.987 requires:
| Violation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| First | Administrative fine of not more than $500, in place of any other penalty under Chapter 618 |
| Second | Administrative fine of not more than $1,000, in place of any other penalty |
| Third and each later | The penalty for a willful violation under NRS 618.635 (up to the federal willful maximum) |
- One Day, One Violation: Any number of violations discovered in a single day count as one violation.
- Due Process: Before a fine is imposed, the Division must follow the citation procedures in Chapter 618, including notice and the chance to contest under NRS 618.475.
Licensing Consequences
Willful disregard of Nevada's safety laws is also a ground for NSCB discipline under NRS 624.3011(1)(b)(2), so repeated safety-card violations can affect the contractor's license as well.
Exam Scenario: A carpenter is hired on May 10, 2026, for a Henderson commercial project. If the carpenter has no OSHA-10 card on file, the carpenter must obtain one within 15 days after hire. If no current, valid card has been presented by then, the employer must suspend or terminate the carpenter. An employer that fails to do so faces up to $500 for a first violation.
A newly hired superintendent starts on a Las Vegas renovation on March 1 and has never taken an OSHA construction course. Under NRS 618.983, by when must the superintendent obtain an OSHA-30 completion card?
Within 30 days after hire.
Not later than 15 days after the date of hire.
Before the end of a 90-day probationary period.
Before the first rough framing inspection.
Which statement about Nevada construction OSHA-10 and OSHA-30 completion cards is correct?
Construction cards expire 5 years after issuance under NRS 618.983 and must then be renewed.
The construction card statutes set no expiration; 5-year rules apply to other industries' cards.
Construction cards expire after 3 years unless the worker completes an approved refresher course.
Construction cards are valid only on the project where the worker originally completed the course.
On one inspection day, Nevada OSHA finds that a contractor let four laborers keep working 40 days after hire without OSHA-10 cards. It is the employer's first violation. Under NRS 618.990, what is the maximum fine?
$500, because a day's violations count as one and a first violation is capped at $500.
$10,000 for each laborer, plus automatic revocation of the contractor's license.
A written warning only, with no fine, because it is the employer's first violation.
A misdemeanor citation for each laborer, with no liability at all for the employer.
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.