Construction laborer screening questions: OSHA 10 and SST cards, trenches, falls, silica and flagging
On this page
- What kind of laborer does the site need?
- Which cards and training does a construction laborer need?
- Knockout questions
- Task questions by type of work
- Safety judgment questions
- Tool questions
- How construction laborer experience gets overstated
- Scoring and the note to the superintendent
- Legal cautions
- Questions people ask
Construction laborer screening questions should find out which site work the candidate has actually done (demolition, concrete, trench and utility work, flagging, material handling and cleanup), with which tools, and whether they hold any card the site's state or city requires. As of October 2026, federal OSHA does not require an OSHA 10 card, but Nevada requires one within 15 days of hire, New York State requires one on public work contracts of $250,000 or more, New York City requires a 40-hour Site Safety Training card on many sites, and some states require a flagger card. Then test safety judgment on falls, trenches, silica dust and traffic.
This page is for laborers on construction sites. For mixed day labor tickets, use general laborer screening questions; for trades, see carpenter and heavy equipment operator screening questions; and for the full loop for site leaders, the interview guide for construction roles.
What kind of laborer does the site need?
| Work | What it usually involves | Question that places the candidate |
|---|---|---|
| Demolition | Interior strip-outs, breaking concrete, removing debris, often with breakers and saws | "What did you take out, with which tools, and who checked for utilities first?" |
| Concrete | Setting and stripping forms, placing and vibrating concrete, helping finishers, curing | "On a pour, what was your job from the first truck to the last?" |
| Trench and utility | Hand digging, pipe laying help, bedding and backfill, compaction | "How deep were the trenches, and what protection was in them?" |
| Flagging and traffic control | Stop/slow paddle, setting cones and signs, working beside live traffic | "Which state issued your flagger card, and when does it expire?" |
| General site labor | Unloading and staging material, carrying to floors, cleanup, keeping access clear | "How did you get material to upper floors on your last site?" |
Which cards and training does a construction laborer need?
OSHA's Outreach Training Program page says the 10-hour course gives workers awareness of common hazards, that it is a voluntary program, that it does not meet the training requirements of any OSHA standard, and that "none of the courses" is a certification. It also notes that some states, cities and others require it as a condition of employment. The employer still has to train each worker under 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2) to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions on its site. Where a card is required, as of October 2026:
| Where | What is required | Source |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | Workers on sites that must have a construction superintendent, site safety coordinator or site safety manager need a Site Safety Training (SST) card for 40 hours; supervisors need 62 hours. A temporary SST card, for those who took OSHA 10 or 30 in the past five years, lasts six months. SST cards are valid for five years. | NYC Department of Buildings, SST card information (Local Law 196) |
| Nevada | A construction worker must obtain an OSHA-10 completion card within 15 days of being hired (OSHA-30 for supervisors). If the card is not presented within 15 days, the employer must suspend or terminate the worker. | NRS 618.983 and 618.987 |
| New York State public work | On state or municipal public work contracts of at least $250,000, all laborers, workers and mechanics must be certified as having completed an OSHA-approved construction safety course of at least 10 hours before performing any work. | Labor Law section 220-h |
| Washington flaggers | Each flagger must carry a valid Washington flagger card or one from a state with a reciprocity agreement (the rule names Oregon, Idaho and Montana as examples), with an expiration date no more than three years after issue. | WAC 296-155-305 |
OSHA says trainers have 90 days after a course to issue cards and that OSHA keeps no records of Outreach classes, so a candidate who has lost a card must go back to their trainer. Ask for a photo of the card and record the trainer and completion date; do not describe a 10-hour card as "OSHA certified" in your submittal.
Knockout questions
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 1. This site requires [an OSHA 10 card / an NYC SST card / a flagger card from this state]. Do you have it, and when was it issued? | The card, the trainer or provider and a date; can send a photo today. | "I did it online somewhere," with no card and no provider. |
| 2. Start time is [6:30 a.m.] at [site], and the site may move. How will you get there, and what is your backup? | Own transport or a confirmed ride, and a backup. | Depends on the crew to pick them up, unconfirmed. |
| 3. The work is outdoors in [heat, cold, rain], lifting and carrying material up to [weight] pounds, climbing ladders and stairs, for the full shift. Can you perform that, with or without accommodation? | Yes, often with a similar site. | None from the answer. Do not ask medical follow-ups. |
| 4. You need [safety-toe boots, hard hat, high-visibility vest, gloves, glasses] on day one. Do you have them? | Has them, or a clear plan to get them. | Shows up planning to borrow boots. |
| 5. This work includes [trenching, roofing, demolition, a cut-off saw]. Are you at least 18? | Yes or no. Ask only where a duty legally requires 18. | Placing a minor on a barred duty. |
On age: under 29 CFR 570.33, 14- and 15-year-olds may not work in construction, except some office and sales work away from the site. The Department of Labor's child labor fact sheet bars workers under 18 from wrecking and demolition (Order 15), roofing (Order 16), trenching and excavation (Order 17), power-driven hoisting apparatus (Order 7) and power-driven saws (Order 14), among others.
Task questions by type of work
Demolition
-
"Walk me through your last interior demo, from the first day to cleanup."
- Strong answer: utilities confirmed off by the supervisor, protection set up, the order of removal, debris chutes or carts, dust control, sorting for recycling.
- Red flag: "We just knocked it all down." No mention of utilities or dust.
Concrete
-
"On a pour, what did you do, and what did you do before the trucks arrived?"
- Strong answer: checked forms and bracing, set up the vibrator and tools, placed and vibrated in lifts, kept wet concrete off skin with gloves and boots, cleaned tools before the concrete set.
- Red flag: only ever swept up afterwards, for an order that needs pour crew.
Trench and utility work
-
"How deep were the trenches you worked in, and what protection was there?"
- Strong answer: gives a depth and names the protection: a trench box, shoring or sloped walls; a ladder close by; spoil kept back from the edge; a competent person checking the trench.
- Red flag: worked in deep, straight-walled trenches with nothing, "because it was only for a minute".
Flagging
-
"How did you set up and run a flagging station?"
- Strong answer: stands where drivers can see them, high-visibility clothing, the stop/slow paddle, an escape route, radio contact with the other flagger, never turns their back on traffic.
- Red flag: on the phone while flagging, or no card in a state that requires one.
Safety judgment questions
These match the OSHA construction rules most likely to come up on a laborer's day. The standard is quoted as of October 2026.
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | The rule behind it |
|---|---|---|
| 10. You are asked to work near an open edge or floor hole on the third floor. What do you check first? | Guardrail, a secured and marked hole cover, or a harness tied off to an anchor they were trained on; tells the foreman if none is there. | 1926.501(b)(1): protection at 6 feet or more above a lower level. |
| 11. The foreman asks you to jump into a 6-foot trench to clear a pipe. There is no box or shoring. What do you do? | Does not go in, says why, waits for protection or the competent person. | 1926.652(a)(1): a protective system unless the trench is in stable rock, or under 5 feet with no sign of cave-in found by a competent person. 1926.651(c)(2): a ladder or other exit in trenches 4 feet or deeper, within 25 feet of travel. |
| 12. You are cutting concrete block with a handheld saw. How do you control the dust? | Water fed to the blade or a vacuum shroud, a respirator where required, cutting where others are not standing in the dust. | 1926.1153(c)(1): the controls in Table 1 for the task, or the employer's own exposure assessment. |
| 13. You are working next to live traffic. What do you wear and where do you stand? | High-visibility vest, inside the work zone, facing traffic, never in a blind spot of reversing equipment. | 1926.201(a): flagging conforms to Part 6 of the MUTCD. |
| 14. It is the first week of a heat wave. How do you work? | Water through the day, shade breaks, watches coworkers, tells the foreman about early signs of heat illness. | OSHA's heat rule is still a proposal as of October 2026 (rulemaking page). California's 8 CCR 3395 requires close observation of newly assigned workers in high heat for their first 14 days. |
Tool questions
| Tool | Question | Strong answer | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breaker or jackhammer | "How heavy, and how long at a stretch?" | A size, rotating with a partner, hearing and eye protection. | Has only held one for a photo. |
| Cut-off saw | "Wet or dry, and who trained you?" | Water or vacuum, guard on, the right blade for the material. | Cuts dry with the guard removed. |
| Plate compactor or rammer | "How did you compact in a trench?" | In lifts, checking the trench protection first, aware of exhaust in confined spaces. | Runs a gas compactor in an enclosed area. |
| Concrete vibrator | "How did you use it in the forms?" | Vertical insertions, spaced, not dragging concrete sideways. | Uses it to move concrete along the form. |
How construction laborer experience gets overstated
- "OSHA certified." Usually a 10-hour card, which OSHA says is not a certification. Record it as a card with a date.
- Cleanup as construction. Final clean on finished buildings presented as site labor.
- Trench work from the surface. Shoveled spoil but never worked in a protected trench.
- Expired or out-of-state flagger cards. A card from a state without reciprocity, or past its date.
- Tools by proximity. "Ran a saw" because they carried block for the person cutting.
Scoring and the note to the superintendent
Pass or fail: holds any card the site's state or city requires; can be at the site at start time; can do the physical work outdoors, with or without accommodation; has the PPE; meets any legal minimum age for the duties.
Scored 0 to 2 each (10 possible):
- Work match: has done the same kind of site work.
- Fall and trench judgment: refuses unprotected work and says why.
- Dust and traffic habits: water or vacuum on saws, high-visibility and position.
- Tools: names tools they were trained on and how they used them.
- Reliability: early starts, moving sites, weather.
Laborer: [name]
Cards: [OSHA 10 / SST / flagger], issued [date] by [trainer], expires [date if any]
Work done: [demo / concrete / trench / flagging / general], [sites], [months]
Tools used: [list]
Trench and fall judgment: [answered fully / partly]
Candidate's own gap: [e.g. "no concrete pours"]For temps, OSHA treats the agency and the contractor as joint employers; see OSHA rules for temporary workers.
Legal cautions
General information as of October 2026, not legal advice. Card, child labor, drug testing and criminal history rules vary by state and city. Confirm the rules where the site is.
Describe the physical work and ask whether the candidate can perform it, with or without accommodation; do not ask about injuries or workers' compensation history, which the EEOC's pre-employment guidance treats as disability-related. For drug testing rules, see drug testing laws in hiring, and for lawful wording, illegal interview questions.
Questions people ask
Is OSHA 10 required for construction laborers?
Not by federal OSHA. OSHA describes its 10-hour Outreach course as voluntary training that is not a certification and does not meet the training requirements of any OSHA standard. Some states and cities require it as a condition of work: for example, Nevada requires construction workers to obtain an OSHA-10 card within 15 days of hire, and New York State requires it for workers on public work contracts of at least $250,000.
What card does a construction laborer need in New York City?
On sites that must have a construction superintendent, site safety coordinator or site safety manager, New York City's Department of Buildings requires workers to hold a Site Safety Training card showing 40 hours of training, and supervisors 62 hours. A worker who took OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 in the past five years can get a temporary SST card valid for six months while finishing the remaining hours.
Does a flagger need a certification?
It depends on the state. Federal OSHA requires flagging to follow Part 6 of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Some states add a card: Washington requires each flagger to carry a valid flagger card from Washington or a state with a reciprocity agreement, with an expiration date no more than three years after issue. Check the state where the work is done.
Can a 17-year-old work as a construction laborer?
Only on duties the federal hazardous occupations orders allow. Workers under 18 may not do roofing work, trenching and excavation, wrecking and demolition, or operate power-driven hoisting equipment, circular saws or woodworking machines, among other barred duties. Workers aged 14 and 15 may not work in construction occupations, except some office and sales work away from the construction site.