Foreman Job Description Templates
Free construction foreman job description templates: standard, small contractor, electrical, warehouse, production, and general. FLSA and OSHA built in.
Foreman Job Description Templates
6 free templates with FLSA and OSHA built in. Download as DOCX or copy-paste.
The foreman job description is one most contractors copy from a generic recruiting template that lists "supervise the crew" and stops, missing the things that actually matter for this hire: the FLSA classification is a real trap (a working foreman who swings a hammer all day is often non-exempt and owed overtime, even on a salary), the foreman is usually your OSHA competent person, and the role has serious physical and certification requirements. A small contractor writing its first foreman posting from a thin template often gets the classification wrong and leaves out the safety and certification language that an experienced foreman expects to see.
At FirstHR, we build templates for small contractors and shops that hire without an HR department, the businesses promoting a lead worker into a foreman role for the first time. The six templates below cover the role by context: construction (standard), small contractor, electrical, warehouse, production, and general foreman. Each builds in FLSA classification, an OSHA competent-person clause, physical requirements, and a certifications block, which the generic templates leave out. Fill in the brackets and post, and the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Does a Foreman Do?
A foreman is the first-line supervisor who leads a crew on the job, keeping the work on schedule, on spec, and safe. In federal occupational data the construction version maps to first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers, who directly supervise and coordinate the activities of construction or extraction workers.
For the employer writing the posting, the useful frame is that the supervisory core stays constant while the context shifts the focus: leading a trades crew on a construction site, running a code-driven licensed crew for electrical work, leading a shift through receiving and shipping in a warehouse, supervising a line in a plant, or overseeing several foremen and crews as a general foreman. That is why the templates below differ by context. The role also carries safety responsibility: on most construction crews the foreman is the designated OSHA competent person, a point the templates build in.
Foreman Duties and Responsibilities
Foreman duties center on crew leadership, job execution, safety, and coordination. The context shifts the weights, an electrical layout versus a warehouse shift, but the categories hold. These are the duties grouped the way the templates use them.
A strong posting grounds these in the context with specifics: the trade and methods, the type of project or shift, the equipment, and the certifications and safety responsibilities expected. Foremen read postings for the concrete scope, the crew size, the safety expectations, and the pay, before applying. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Foreman vs General Foreman vs Superintendent
The supervisory titles on a job site stack into a chain of command, and naming the level precisely keeps your posting accurate. Here is how the three relate.
| Role | Scope | Reports to |
|---|---|---|
| Foreman | Leads one crew, daily execution | General foreman or superintendent |
| General Foreman | Oversees multiple foremen and crews | Superintendent |
| Superintendent | Runs the whole project | Project manager or owner |
| Working Foreman | Leads and works alongside the crew | Foreman or owner |
For a small contractor, these layers often collapse: the owner acts as superintendent and the foreman runs the only crew. The distinction still matters for classification, since a general foreman who primarily supervises is more likely exempt, while a hands-on working foreman is often non-exempt. Use the title and template that match the actual level.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by context and by whether the role is hands-on or primarily supervisory. The supervisory core runs through all six, but the trade, the environment, the certifications, and the likely FLSA classification differ enough that the matched version always reads more credibly. Use this guide to choose.
6 Free Foreman Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company overview, job summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, physical requirements, certifications and safety, pay, and how to apply, with the FLSA status and OSHA competent-person role built in. Fill in the brackets and post.
Template 1: Construction Foreman (Standard)
The base version: lead a crew on site, lay out work from plans, run the schedule, and own safety as the OSHA competent person. Start here if no specialized version fits.
Template 2: Small Contractor Foreman (No HR Department)
For a small contractor where the foreman is the owner's right hand on site, often working alongside the crew. Includes a plain-language working-foreman classification note.
Template 3: Electrical Foreman
For leading an electrical crew: laying out work from plans, keeping the job code-compliant, and coordinating inspections, with license and lockout/tagout fields.
Template 4: Warehouse Foreman
For leading a warehouse shift crew through receiving, picking, and shipping to productivity and accuracy targets, with forklift and shift fields.
Template 5: Production / Manufacturing Foreman
For leading a production shift: directing operators, hitting output and quality targets, and keeping the line safe, mapped to the first-line production supervisor role.
Template 6: General Foreman
A step above foreman: coordinating several foremen and crews, planning across the schedule, and reporting to the superintendent. More likely exempt as a primarily supervisory role.
FLSA: Is a Foreman Exempt or Non-Exempt?
A foreman's classification depends on the actual duties, not the title or whether you pay a salary, and getting it wrong is one of the most expensive mistakes a small contractor can make. The key concept is the working foreman: someone who carries a supervisor title but spends most of the day doing manual labor alongside the crew. Under the FLSA, that person is generally non-exempt and owed overtime beyond 40 hours in a week, regardless of a salary, because their primary duty is the work, not management.
To qualify for the executive exemption, a foreman must meet every part of the test: management must be the primary duty, they must customarily and regularly direct the work of at least two or more full-time employees, they must have authority to hire or fire or have their recommendations given particular weight, and they must be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week. A general foreman who primarily supervises multiple crews is more likely to clear that bar; a hands-on crew foreman often is not. The salary level above is the figure currently in effect after a federal court vacated a later rule that would have raised it. Classify by the real duties, track hours where the role is non-exempt, and keep the posting job-related and neutral, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm with an employment attorney.
OSHA Competent Person and Safety
On most construction crews the foreman is the designated OSHA competent person, and that responsibility belongs in the job description. Many standards in OSHA's construction rules require a competent person on site, defined in 29 CFR 1926.32(f) as one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them. OSHA's own competent person overview notes this designee is often a foreman or supervisor.
Two parts of that definition matter for the posting. First, the foreman must be able to recognize the hazards, which comes through training and experience, so name the safety training you require. Second, the foreman must actually have the authority to stop work and fix hazards, not just spot them, so the role needs that authority in writing. Specific standards such as fall protection, excavation, and scaffolding each carry their own competent-person training expectations, and fall protection is consistently among OSHA's most-cited standards, so the safety section is substantive, not boilerplate. Building the competent-person designation into the foreman job description is both a safety practice and a compliance practice. Confirm your specific requirements with OSHA or a safety professional.
Foreman Qualifications and Certifications
Foreman qualifications combine trade experience, crew-leadership ability, and specific certifications, which makes the posting's job naming all three clearly so candidates can self-qualify rather than guess.
| Weak requirement | Strong requirement |
|---|---|
| Experienced | [N] years in the trade, including crew-leading experience |
| Knows safety | OSHA 30, and able to serve as the OSHA competent person |
| Certified | First Aid/CPR; CDL or equipment licenses where the role requires |
| Can read plans | Reads blueprints and lays out work to spec independently |
| Physically able | Lifts up to [50] lbs; all-weather outdoor work and heights |
OSHA 30 is a common baseline for a construction foreman, and trade-specific licenses (such as a journeyman or master electrician license) are non-negotiable where state law requires them. Allowing equivalent experience where appropriate widens a strong field, but safety and licensing requirements are firm. Keep every line job-related, and for the standard sections of a posting, the SHRM job description tools describe a good job description as a plain-language summary of a position's tasks, duties, and responsibilities.
How to Write a Foreman Job Description
A strong foreman posting takes about 25 minutes and does two jobs: it gives a candidate the scope, safety expectations, certifications, and pay they screen on, and it gets the classification and safety designation right so you do not create liability. Here is the process the templates are built around. If this is among your first hires, the small business hiring guide covers the steps around the posting itself.
Foreman Pay
Foreman pay is solid and varies by trade, region, certifications, and union status, which argues for posting a real range and remembering overtime where the role is non-exempt.
Within those ranges, pay rises with trade specialization, license level, market, and certifications, and union foremen are paid per the collective bargaining agreement. Remember that a non-exempt working foreman is owed overtime on top of base pay, which is a real budget line on a busy crew. Because pay is one of the first things an experienced foreman screens on, posting a concrete range is one of the most effective ways to attract candidates, which is why the templates leave pay as a field. National compensation surveys can help you set a range for your specific trade and market.
Hiring a Foreman at a Small Company
Large general contractors hire foremen through a dedicated recruiting and safety apparatus. A small contractor promoting a lead worker into a foreman role, or hiring one for the first time, has to get three things right itself: the classification, the safety designation, and the certifications and onboarding. Here is how to do it well.
After You Hire: Onboarding
The job description is step one, and a foreman hire is different from most because it is safety-critical and often certification-gated, so onboarding has to capture more than the usual paperwork. Send the offer with the pay and the correct FLSA classification, collect the signed offer, complete Form I-9 within the first days along with the rest of the new hire paperwork, gather tax forms, and add a confidentiality or safety acknowledgement.
Then capture what this role specifically requires: proof and storage of certifications (OSHA 30, First Aid/CPR, CDL or equipment licenses), PPE issuance logged, and where a CDL applies, enrollment in the DOT drug-and-alcohol testing program. Then the role onboarding that sets up the first months: a walkthrough of your safety program and the competent-person expectations, your crew and job-site processes, and clear expectations on schedule and quality, the kind of structured start the employee onboarding guide lays out and a 30-60-90 day plan template can anchor. Once your offer is ready, the offer letter template handles the core terms with the classification, and the employment contract template carries the formal terms. FirstHR connects the offer with e-signature, the safety and onboarding documents and certifications and their storage, document management, training assignments, and the onboarding workflow in one place, built for contractors without an HR department. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a foreman do?
A foreman is the first-line supervisor who leads a crew on the job, keeping work on schedule, on spec, and safe. The core work is consistent: directing the crew day to day, laying out work from plans, coordinating materials and subcontractors, enforcing safety, tracking progress, and serving as the on-site point of contact. On a construction site the foreman usually also acts as the OSHA competent person. The setting shapes the rest. A construction foreman leads a trades crew on site, an electrical foreman runs a code-driven licensed crew, a warehouse foreman leads a shift through receiving and shipping, a production foreman supervises a manufacturing line, and a general foreman oversees several foremen and crews at once. This page covers the role and offers a template for each context, since the supervisory core is constant while the trade and environment vary.
What is the difference between a foreman and a general foreman?
It is a question of scope and layer. A foreman leads one crew directly: assigning the work, running the day, and often working alongside the crew. A general foreman sits one level up and oversees multiple foremen and their crews, coordinating labor, equipment, and schedule across them and answering to the superintendent. In a typical chain of command the crew reports to the foreman, the foremen report to the general foreman, and the general foreman reports to the superintendent, who runs the whole project. The practical difference for hiring is that a general foreman is primarily a supervisory and planning role, which also makes the FLSA exemption more likely to apply, while a hands-on crew foreman is often a working foreman who may be non-exempt. This page includes both a standard foreman template and a general foreman template.
What is the difference between a foreman and a superintendent?
The superintendent runs the whole project; the foreman runs a crew within it. A superintendent manages the overall job: the schedule, the budget, the subcontractors, the client, and the foremen or general foremen who lead the crews. A foreman is focused on the daily execution of one crew's work on site. In the chain of command, the foreman reports up through the general foreman to the superintendent. For a small contractor, these layers often collapse: the owner may act as superintendent and the foreman may run the only crew, which is exactly why the small-contractor template on this page frames the foreman as the owner's right hand on site rather than one layer in a tall hierarchy.
Is a foreman exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on the actual duties, not the title or whether you pay a salary. A working foreman who spends most of the day performing manual labor alongside the crew is generally non-exempt and owed overtime beyond 40 hours in a week, even if salaried. To qualify for the executive exemption, the foreman's primary duty must be management, they must customarily and regularly direct the work of at least two or more full-time employees, they must have authority to hire or fire (or have their recommendations given particular weight), and they must be paid on a salary basis of at least $684 per week. A general foreman who primarily supervises multiple crews is more likely to qualify; a hands-on crew foreman often does not. This is one of the most expensive misclassification traps for small contractors, since unpaid back-overtime and damages accumulate over years. Classify by the real duties, track hours where non-exempt, and confirm with the Department of Labor or an attorney. This is general information, not legal advice.
What does it mean that a foreman is the OSHA competent person?
Many OSHA construction standards require a designated competent person on the job site, and on most crews that person is the foreman. OSHA defines a competent person as one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions that are hazardous or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them. Two things matter: the person must be able to recognize the hazards, through training and experience, and must actually have the authority to stop work and fix them. Specific standards such as fall protection, excavation, and scaffolding each carry their own competent-person training expectations. Naming the competent-person designation in the foreman job description and backing it with the right training is both a safety and a compliance practice, especially since fall protection is consistently among OSHA's most-cited standards. Confirm your specific requirements with OSHA or a safety professional.
What should a foreman job description include?
A strong foreman job description includes a company overview, a job summary, key responsibilities, required qualifications, a physical requirements section, a certifications block, the employment type and FLSA classification, the pay, and how to apply. List the core duties: supervising the crew, laying out work from plans, coordinating materials and subs, enforcing safety, and tracking progress. State the physical demands honestly (lifting, all-weather outdoor work, heights, PPE), since this is a physical role and candidates self-select on it. Name the certifications you require, such as OSHA 30, First Aid/CPR, and a CDL or equipment licenses where relevant. Designate the OSHA competent-person role where it applies. Confirm and state the FLSA classification, since a working foreman is often non-exempt. And decide the union or non-union framing, since a collective bargaining agreement changes overtime and pay. The templates here build all of these in, which most generic templates omit.
How much does a foreman make?
Foreman pay is solid and varies by trade, region, and whether the role is union. For construction, the closest federal category is first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers, which had a median annual wage of about $76,760 and a mean of about $81,340 in the most recent fully published national figures (May 2023), with the top earners well above that. The broader construction and extraction group had a median of $58,360 in May 2024. For a production or manufacturing foreman, the relevant category is first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, with a median of about $71,190 in May 2024. Actual pay depends heavily on trade, market, certifications, and union status, and union foremen are paid per the collective bargaining agreement. Because pay is one of the first things an experienced foreman screens on, post a real range, and remember that a non-exempt working foreman is also owed overtime on top of base pay. The templates leave pay as a field.
What happens after I hire a foreman?
Start with paperwork and certifications, then run a safety-aware onboarding, because this is a safety-critical hire. Send the offer with the pay and the correct FLSA classification, collect the signed offer, complete Form I-9 within the first days, gather tax forms, and add a confidentiality or safety acknowledgement. Then capture and store the certifications the role requires (OSHA 30, First Aid/CPR, CDL or equipment licenses), issue PPE and log it, and where a CDL applies, enroll the role in the DOT drug-and-alcohol testing program. Then the role onboarding that sets up the first months: a walkthrough of your safety program and the competent-person expectations, your crew and job-site processes, how you track progress and report, and clear expectations on schedule and quality. For a safety-critical, often certification-gated role, documented training sign-offs and stored certifications are what protect you on an inspection or a claim. FirstHR handles the offer with e-signature, the safety and onboarding documents and certifications and their storage, document management, training assignments, and the onboarding workflow in one place, built for contractors without an HR department. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.