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As an employer, it is your responsibility to assure proper training for all employees with job responsibilities, which include the packaging and shipping of diagnostic (clinical) specimens or hazardous materials (including infectious substances and dry ice). You may conduct this training in house or you may contract with someone else to offer the training either at your location or be sending individuals to a course. You can even accept documentation from a former employer that an individual is properly trained. However, it does not matter who does the training or where, only you as an employer can certify that the training is appropriate for each individual given their job responsibilities.

Training and the resulting certification process should occur within 90 days of hire or reassignment to a job where such knowledge is needed. Retraining should occur when ever regulatory changes indicate or at least once every three (3) years. Training should also be followed by testing, which documents the validity of the training and the mastery of the content by the employee. Documentation of this training and the resulting certification must be kept throughout the entire time that individual is employed in your facility.

As a part of the training process, the employer has several responsibilities:

1. You must make the training specific to the job duties performed by an individual.
2. You must stay abreast of changing regulations and provide retraining as needed.
3. You must be in contact with the carrier you use and assure that you are meeting their most recent rules.
4. You must keep records of the curriculum and content of each training session.
5. You must certify that the individual has been properly trained in accordance with their work responsibilities and has passed a test to assure competency.
6. You must maintain the documentation throughout the entire course of employment of an individual.

Shippers are directly responsible for the correct and legal transport of dangerous or hazardous materials by ground or air. Anyone who offers advise for transport, transports, or handles hazardous materials for transport must be trained. (Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 49, Part 172-H).