Caught on Site Without a Valid SST Card: What Actually Happens

Short answer: if you’re on an NYC site without a valid SST card, the NYC DOB citation doesn’t land on you. It lands on the people running the job. That doesn’t put you in the clear. It makes you the reason somebody else gets written up, and they will remember your name.

Who gets cited, and who doesn’t

According to the NYC DOB Site Safety Training FAQ, the citation for a worker without valid training goes to the owner, the permit holder or the employer. The worker is not the one cited.

The training requirement sits in Building Code §3321, and the penalty schedule is in 1 RCNY 102-01. If you want to know what a violation costs, read the schedule itself. Amounts are set there, and a blog post is the wrong place to look them up.

Source: NYC DOB Site Safety Training page and FAQ.

Why “it’s not my violation” is bad news

Look at who does get cited. The owner. The company that pulled the permit. The employer who signs your check. Any of them can take the hit because your card was missing, expired or never ordered.

The citation isn’t yours, but the look you get from the boss is. Then comes the conversation about why you’re standing on their job without paperwork you could have finished online.

You also don’t get to pick who’s on the other end of that conversation. It could be the person who hires for the next job.

How people end up without a valid card

Almost nobody decides to skip the card. It just happens.

• Never took the course. Somebody said they’d handle it, and then nobody handled it.
• The card expired. An SST card expires 5 years from the date it was issued. Check the date on yours today, not the day someone asks.
• A prior school never recorded your classes. In that case NYC DOB can require extra training before you’re good to go. Better to find out now than on the job.
• The card is in the drawer at home. Having a card and having it on you are different things.

What it takes to get a valid card

Predictive Safety is on the NYC DOB provider record as an SST course provider (NYC DOB Course Provider #CP059), and we’re IACET accredited. The courses are online, self-paced, in English and Spanish. Do them after work or on the train, nobody’s checking where you sit.

If you’re not sure which one you need, start with how to get an SST card in NYC. If you already know you’re a worker, the SST Worker card page is your stop.

Once your course is complete, your photo and ID are accepted and your Training Connect certificate is in, we process your card immediately. Cards are processed immediately, typically in hand within 48 hours. Every card ships with a tracking number.

We print the cards ourselves and ship them. NYC DOB doesn’t print or mail them, so don’t sit around waiting on an envelope from the city.

And if we’re late, we put our money where our mouth is. No tracking number by the end of the next business day after your requirements are clear, and your next renewal course is half off and you get one replacement card free.

If you run the crew

Check cards before the work starts, not after someone walks the site. Look at the issue date and do the math on the 5 years. A card that expires next month is a problem you can fix this week.

The law behind all of this is Local Law 196 of 2017. If you want the background on what it requires and who it covers, our Local Law 196 training page lays it out.

Because the citation goes to the owner, permit holder or employer, the cleanest fix is on your side of the fence. One missing card is one preventable problem.

Next step

Don’t be the reason the site gets a violation; get carded before Monday. Pick your course on the All SST courses page, finish it, and we’ll handle the card from there.

Predictive Safety