New Jersey OSHA Instructor Pleads Guilty to Selling False OSHA 30 30 Certifications, Faces up to 5 Years in Prison

On September 10, 2010, Frederick T. Prinz, an New Jersey based Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) instructor pleaded guilty to selling false OSHA 30 Hour cards to New Jersey construction workers.  Mr. Pritz’s actions qualify as a felony, and he now faces up to five years in prison and as much as a $250,000 fine.  Court documents indicate that Mr. Printz will receive his sentence on December 10, 2014.

An OSHA 30 Hour card certifies that the card holders completed 30 hours of OSHA regulations and standards training and may only be issued by a certified OSHA instructor to individuals who complete one of OSHA’s Outreach Training Program classes and pass a test.  According to documents filed by prosecutors with the United States Federal Court for the District of New Jersey, Mr. Frintz became certified to conduct OSHA Outreach Training Program classes and then, for a period spanning February 2011 through July 28, 2012, Mr. Prinz issued authentic OSHA 30 Hour cards to construction workers in New Jersey that had neither taken nor passed the OSHA required safety courses.  The Philadelphia Business Times has reported that Mr. Frintz sold more than 100 the false OSHA 30 Hour cards, charging a fee between $150 to $250 for each card.