The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a facet of the U.S. Department of Labor, has awarded $10.5 million in safety grants to 77 non-profit organizations throughout the country. These one-year safety and health training grants will provide education for both employers and employees in order for them to recognize, prevent, and avoid workplace hazards. The grants also serve to inform employees of their rights — and remind employers of their responsibilities — in regards to workplace safety and health.
OSHA already requires employers to conduct hazard assessments to determine workplace risks, including foot injury hazards. However, these grants will expand the knowledge of both employers and workers, and will emphasize the importance of maintaining a safe work environment.
These training grants are made possible by the department’s Susan Harwood Training Grants Program, which is specifically geared towards organizations in the non-profit sector. These organizations include labor unions, faith-based groups, colleges, and universities, and a large emphasis is placed on training small-business owners and high-hazard industries with vulnerable workers.
Approximately $3.6 million is being dedicated to developing programs and materials that highlight workplace hazards and prevention techniques. These grants will be awarded to 28 organizations and require the recipients to be well-versed in OSHA-designated health and safety topics, like workplace violence, confined spaces, and other hazards.
11 of the 77 organizations will receive $1.5 million in new capacity-building grants in order to establish safety training and assistance. One of these 11 organizations will receive a grant that will assess the organization’s needs before launching a full-scale program.
Additionally, 38 other grantees, all of which have demonstrated their ability to provide a safe and healthy work environment, will further benefit from this year’s grants in order to help sustain and improve upon their satisfactory performance.
OSHA’s grant program is noted as one of the most effective ways the Department of Labor has for communicating with at-risk workers in hazardous industries. The program can be conducted in 24 different languages, and helps educate vulnerable employees who might not be well-versed in training techniques. Since the program’s conception in 1978, it has provided training for approximately 2.1 million workers.