Fact Sheet

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OSHA Programs to Help Hispanic Workers

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) mission is to assure the safety and health of workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health.   

In 2001, OSHA created a Hispanic Task Force, which continues to meet regularly, to identify ways to reduce injuries, illnesses and deaths among Spanish-speaking employers and workers.

To increase public awareness of best practices in assuring safety and health for Hispanic workers, the OSHA Hispanic Safety and Health Summit, to be held July 22, 2004, in Orlando, will showcase successful efforts drawn from a variety of industries and settings around the country.

Communication
OSHA created a Spanish page on its web site in 2002 and added a Spanish option to its toll-free helpline at 1-800-321-OSHA. The agency surveyed its staff and found more than 180 federal and state OSHA personnel speak Spanish. OSHA has identified regional Hispanic coordinators to oversee Hispanic outreach and continues to recruit Spanish speakers for all offices.

To enhance communication, OSHA's task force recently created an English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English glossary of more than 200 words related to safety and health, which is available on the agency's web site at www.osha.gov. More than 15 million listeners have heard OSHA radio public service announcements made available to 650 Spanish radio stations emphasizing the importance of safety on the job.

Translations
OSHA has a dozen publications and ten fact sheets in Spanish on its web page and will continue adding materials as they are translated. Two interactive software packages — eTools — are available in Spanish for free downloading from OSHA's web site. One covers commercial sewing and the other addresses construction.

Training
OSHA's 70 compliance assistance specialists offer workshops and training seminars tailored to local needs for Hispanic workers from landscaping in Georgia to woodworking in Connecticut to training for day laborers in Texas and Illinois. In addition, OSHA has 20 education centers in 35 locations that may offer some safety and health training in Spanish. In addition, 50 nonprofit OSHA training grant recipients are developing safety and health training materials to reach Spanish-speaking workers. For example:

• Georgia Tech Research Corporation is developing training materials focused on hazards faced by concrete delivery truck drivers.
• International Society of Arboriculture is creating an interactive CD-ROM on safe work practices for tree care.
• Pennsylvania Foundry Association is preparing silicosis prevention training for the foundry industry.
• Texas Engineering Extension Services is developing photo training materials on safety and health hazards in oil and gas field operations.
• University of Massachusetts Lowell Research Foundation is making available a Spanish version of the OSHA 10-hour construction outreach training program.

Partnering Efforts
In addition to the partnership with Mexico and the Mexican consulates, OSHA has developed 10 national alliances and 31 regional alliances that focus on reaching Hispanic workers and businesses on issues such as ergonomics, motor vehicle safety, amputations, falls and work zone safety. As part of an alliance, OSHA and the National Association of Home Builders are developing a fall protection fact sheet in Spanish.

Wenner Bread in Bayport, New York, one of OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs participants, has an overall injury and illness rate about half that of others in its industry. The company believes its success is due to an effective safety and health program that includes making training and all educational, operational and regulatory information available in both Spanish and English. Daily safety briefings and weekly safety meetings are held in both languages. The company uses bilingual employees to translate materials and interpret workplace presentations. Wenner's efforts have also led to improved employee relations, increased productivity and higher product quality.

Family safety days draw workers for safety training while providing education and entertainment for other family members. In Dallas, OSHA partnered with the Hispanic Contractors and the Mexican Consulate to host a family safety fair earlier this year. Some employers also paid workers who attended at least 10 of the 12 safety sessions.

On March 27, 2004, 200 construction and landscaping workers came to the Family Health and Safety Fair in Hialeah, Florida, co-sponsored by OSHA, DOL's Wage and Hour Division and four additional groups. The fair featured eight safety classes, taught exclusively in Spanish.

Enforcement
OSHA is investigating whether there is a link between language and cultural barriers and employee deaths. Preliminary findings indicate that about 25% of the fatalities the agency investigates are in some way related to language or cultural barriers. The agency will be collecting and analyzing additional data to find ways to eliminate barriers and reduce deaths on the job.