Who is a Hazmat Employee?

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Between each of the various regulatory agencies, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), which is part of the Department of Transportation (DOT), there are many overlapping regulations regarding the transportation of hazardous materials. Some of these regulations include ensuring that employees are properly and adequately trained for the jobs they perform involving hazardous materials. These requirements are related to the safety not only of the employees handling the materials, but also of other workers and the public at large. That’s why adequate safety training is not recommended, it’s the law.

It is important to understand what is required of all employees involved in hazardous moj database behavior to ensure compliance with all regulations. In order to know who needs what specific training, it is first necessary to understand who these regulations are for.

Who is a Hazmat Employer?
First, it is crucial to understand who qualifies as a hazardous employer. Generally, any business or facility that accepts or offers hazardous materials is considered a hazardous employer.

The U.S. Department of Transportation defines a hazardous employer as “a person who employs one or more employees in connection with: transporting hazardous materials in commerce; causing hazardous materials to be transported or shipped in commerce; or representing, marking, certifying, selling, offering, manufacturing, refurbishing, testing, repairing, or modifying containers, drums, or packaging as qualified in the transportation of hazardous materials.”1



Essentially, any business that deals in any way with hazardous materials is considered a hazardous employer. Accordingly, this employer is required to ensure that its own hazardous employees are properly trained.

Under the specific regulations of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration relating to the transportation of hazardous materials ( 49 CFR 171.8 (b), there is no exception to the size of the business where a person “employed full-time, part-time, or temporarily by a hazmat employer, or who is self-employed” must have the qualifications of a hazmat employee and be responsible for his or her own safety training.2

The legal definition of a hazardous employee is anyone who “directly affects the safety of the transportation of hazardous materials” and extends beyond those actually driving, loading or unloading the vehicles.3

According to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration , a hazmat employee is anyone who “loads, unloads, or handles hazmat; tests, modifies, repairs, modifies, marks, or otherwise qualifies packaging as qualified for use in transporting a hazard; prepares hazmat for transportation; is responsible for the safety of transporting hazmat; or operates a vehicle used to transport a hazard.”4