29 CFR 1926.20: General safety and health provisions
The official text is on the eCFR. This page maps how the section is organized, quotes the paragraphs our CHST practice questions are built on, and gives free questions you can try. Text below is quoted from the eCFR, current as of 2026-10-14; the section was last amended 2020-02-18.
How 29 CFR 1926.20 is organized
- (a) Contractor requirements1 paragraph
- (b) Accident prevention responsibilities4 paragraphs
- (c)1 paragraph
- (d)2 paragraphs
- (e)1 paragraph
- (f)2 paragraphs
Paragraphs our practice questions cite most
Counted across the 9 live PassCited questions built on this section. This reflects our question bank, not the real exam.
“(4) The employer shall permit only those employees qualified by training or experience to operate equipment and machinery.”
“(f) Compliance duties owed to each employee—(1) Personal protective equipment. Standards in this part requiring the employer to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), including respirators and other types of PPE, because of hazards to employees impose a separate compliance duty with respect to each employee covered by the requirement. The employer must provide PPE to each employee required to use the PPE, and each failure to provide PPE to an employee may be considered a separate violation.”
“(d) (1) If a particular standard is specifically applicable to a condition, practice, means, method, operation, or process, it shall prevail over any different general standard which might otherwise be applicable to the same condition, practice, means, method, operation, or process.”
“(3) The use of any machinery, tool, material, or equipment which is not in compliance with any applicable requirement of this part is prohibited. Such machine, tool, material, or equipment shall either be identified as unsafe by tagging or locking the controls to render them inoperable or shall be physically removed from its place of operation.”
Free practice questions on 29 CFR 1926.20
Question 1
During a routine walkthrough, a site safety technician finds a corded circular saw with a cracked blade guard that does not meet the applicable requirements of the construction standards. The crew needs the saw to finish framing the afternoon's work. What must be done with the saw?
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Answer: B. Identify it as unsafe by tagging or locking the controls so it cannot be operated, or physically remove it from its place of operation
The standard prohibits using any noncompliant tool and requires that it be tagged out, have its controls locked, or be physically removed. Operator experience or extra PPE does not make a noncompliant tool acceptable, and a verbal warning does not identify or disable it.
Answer B rests on
29 CFR 1926.20(b)(3)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“Such machine, tool, material, or equipment shall either be identified as unsafe by tagging or locking the controls to render them inoperable or shall be physically removed from its place of operation.”
Question 2
A framing contractor has 10 of its own employees working beneath an overhead hazard where the applicable standard requires hard hats. The employer issued hard hats to 7 of them and never provided hard hats to the other 3. During an inspection, how may the compliance officer treat the failure to provide PPE?
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Answer: B. As up to three separate violations, one for each employee who was not provided a hard hat
The standard imposes a separate compliance duty for each employee required to use PPE, so each failure to provide a hard hat to an employee may be a separate violation. Here that means the 3 employees without hard hats, not all 10 employees and not one violation for the whole crew. Having equipped most of the crew does not remove the duty owed to each of the remaining employees.
Answer B rests on
29 CFR 1926.20(f)(1)(opens ecfr.gov in a new tab)“The employer must provide PPE to each employee required to use the PPE, and each failure to provide PPE to an employee may be considered a separate violation.”
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This is a study aid, not legal advice or an official interpretation. Always check the current eCFR text. Original practice questions, not real exam items. PassCited is not affiliated with or endorsed by BCSP.