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 Compliance
Assistance Quick Start: Hispanic Outreach
The OSHA Hispanic Outreach Module of Compliance
Assistance Quick Start will assist employers with
a Spanish-speaking workforce to learn more about employer and employee workplace
rights and responsibilities, identify Spanish-language outreach resources,
detail how employers can work cooperatively with OSHA, and provide a list
of persons
whom they can contact for additional information. By following this
step-by-step guide, employers will be able to identify OSHA Spanish-language
resources on OSHA’s website that will help them comply with the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 as well as help them to prevent employee workplace injuries and
illnesses.
For more information, please see the
OSHA English-Spanish and Spanish-English Dictionaries (with phonetic pronunciation
guides) that contain over 400 general OSHA and construction safety and
health industry terms. Additionally, the OSHA Directory, which is a
collection of national, regional, state plan and on-site consultation
contact information incorporated within the Hispanic Outreach Module, may
also be a valuable reference resource after completing the above
steps.
NOTE:
If you employ teen or young workers, visit
OSHA’s Teen Workers page.
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Step 1: Employer and Employee Workplace Rights and Responsibilities
- Employer Rights and Responsibilities.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) is administered by the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This Act covers all
private sector employers and their employees either directly through
Federal OSHA or through an OSHA-approved state plan. Employers covered
by the OSH Act must comply with the regulations and the safety and health
standards promulgated by OSHA. Employers have certain responsibilities under
the OSH Act and also have a general duty under the OSH Act to
provide a workplace free from recognized, serious hazards.
- Worker Rights. You have a right to a safe workplace.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires employers to
provide a workplace that is free from recognized hazards and to comply
with occupational safety and health standards.
Every worker has the right to go home whole and healthy every day. Workers
have the right to seek safe and healthful conditions on the job without
fear of punishment. OSHA requires all employers to display the OSHA poster
(or state plan equivalent) in a prominent location in the workplace
informing employees of their rights and protections.
NOTE: States with OSHA-approved state plans (24
states and two territories, including four state plans limited to public sector employees) provide at least the same rights and
protections (and in some cases additional rights) to workers, although they
may follow slightly different procedures.
- Worker Responsibilities.
Although OSHA does not cite employees for violations of their
responsibilities, each employee "shall comply with all occupational safety
and health standards and all rules, regulations, and orders issued under the
Act" that are applicable. Employee responsibilities and rights in states
with their own occupational safety and health programs are generally the
same as those for workers in states covered by Federal OSHA.
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Step 2: OSHA Outreach Resources for Spanish-Speaking Employees
Spanish-Language Outreach Resources
- Employers may utilize the
Hispanic Employers and Workers Compliance Assistance
webpage
where they can access
OSHA Spanish-language compliance assistance resources to help employers
prevent occupational injuries and illnesses of Hispanic
workers, comply with the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970,
and learn about OSHA's
cooperative programs.
Additionally, this site provides links to Spanish-language outreach
brochures,
eTools, websites and other information available from OSHA,
its regional/area offices, state programs, consultation projects, Federal
agencies and other organizations
- OSHA en Español is the agency’s Spanish-language
webpage that
provides workplace safety and health information to Spanish-speaking
employers, America's largest group of minority business owners, and
employees. The page provides an overview of OSHA and its mission, worker
and employer rights and responsibilities, a list of resources for
employers and workers, and highlights from the agency's extensive website.
It tells how to file complaints electronically in Spanish and offers
one-stop service for Spanish-speaking employers and employees.
Electronic Compliance Assistance Tools (eTools)
- The following are electronic compliance tools that have either been
translated into Spanish or contain Spanish-language resources.
- Construction: Preventing Fatalities.
Despite its high fatality rate, construction work can be performed safely when workers are aware of the hazards and
follow an effective
safety and health
program. This eTool will help you identify and control the hazards that
commonly cause the
most serious construction injuries.
- Ergonomics: Sewing and Related Procedures. This eTool provides examples
of
ergonomic hazards and solutions specific to workers in the sewing industry.
-
Poultry Processing Industry. This eTool provides numerous compliance
assistance resources related to the poultry processing industry.
Publications
-
OSHA maintains a library of Spanish-language publications, fact sheets and
posters available for dissemination to Hispanic workers.
Cooperative Programs
- Alliance Program. Organizations can work cooperatively with OSHA through its many
cooperative programs including OSHA’s Alliance Program.
Further, there are numerous national and regional/area office Alliances
that have a
Hispanic outreach component. Please be sure to contact the
OSHA national office
or your
Regional Alliance Program Coordinator for additional Alliance Program information.
- Consultation Program. OSHA offers employers, particularly small businesses, free on-site
safety and health services through its
Consultation Program. Employers can
find out about potential hazards at their worksites, improve their
occupational safety and health management systems, and even qualify for a
one-year exemption from routine OSHA inspections.
The Consultation Programs received FY 2002 funding to translate compliance
assistance materials into Spanish. Sample results include the Texas
Workers Compensation Commission’s Safety and Health Library that lists
numerous Spanish-language safety and health fact sheets including hazard
communication, heat stress and machine guarding.
Success Stories
- OSHA collects Hispanic worker related success
stories, where employers have implemented Hispanic worker outreach, education and training programs or
utilized best practices and have reported successful results.
Other Resources
- OSHA 800 Number. Callers to OSHA’s 1-800 number (1-800-321-OSHA) may now access a
Spanish-language option to further assist Spanish-speaking employers and
workers in need of additional safety and health information.
- Public Service Announcements. OSHA has developed several public
service announcements (PSAs) in Spanish.
- OSHA launched a national Hispanic outreach campaign on Worker Memorial Day 2004 with the
release of two public service announcements (PSAs) to over 650 Spanish radio stations. One
PSA is targeted for workers and their families while the other PSA is targeted for
employers.
- For more information, see
Public Service Announcements in Spanish.
- Showcase Articles. OSHA’s
Regional Showcase Articles highlight some of the compliance
assistance and outreach initiatives taken by OSHA’s regional and area
offices. The stories generally focus on initiatives that fall outside the
scope of OSHA’s formal
cooperative programs.
- Regional Hispanic/ESL Coordinators. The OSHA regional/area offices are available to assist employers and
Hispanic workers in outreach, education, and training. Further, OSHA has
designated regional
Hispanic/English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) Coordinators to assist employers with outreach, education and training to
their Spanish-speaking workforce. Please contact your regional
coordinator for additional information.
- State Programs.
Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
encourages states to develop and operate their own job safety and health
programs. OSHA approves and monitors
state programs and
provides up to 50 percent of an approved plan's operating costs. In
addition, many State Programs have developed additional Spanish-language
outreach materials.
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Step 3: OSHA Spanish-Language Training Resources
OSHA Directorate of Training and Education
The OSHA Directorate of Training and Education develops policy and
implements programs designed
to educate and train students in the recognition, avoidance and
prevention of unsafe and unhealthful
working conditions.
-
OSHA’s Training Institute now offers 38 different Spanish Safety Training Videos [PDF
- 351 KB] to OSHA outreach trainers in subjects that include electrical safety, trenching and
shoring, lockout/tagout, and personal protective equipment through its
Resource Center Loan Program.
- The
OSHA Training Institute (OTI) Education Centers are regionally
located training centers throughout the United States that offer a wide
range of safety and health classes. OSHA has doubled the number of
training centers and increased the courses they offer in Spanish,
emphasizing the #500 and #501 courses for workers.
- The
OSHA Outreach Training Program is OSHA’s primary way to train employees in the basics of
occupational safety and health. Through the program, individuals who complete a one-week OSHA
trainer course are authorized to teach 10-hour or 30-hour courses in construction or general
industry safety and health standards. Authorized trainers can receive OSHA course completion
cards for their students. Trainer and student classes are taught throughout the country, and
an inventory of Spanish-speaking trainers is maintained.
- OSHA's
Susan Harwood Training Program offers funds to nonprofit
organizations to train workers and employers to recognize, avoid, and
prevent safety and health hazards in their workplaces.
- The
Roadway Safety Awareness Program provides an overview of common
hazards in highway and road construction and simple prevention measures.
It is designed for use by supervisory personnel with some safety and
health experience or by safety and health personnel to orient new workers
as they arrive on the jobsite. This material was produced under grant
number 46C1-HT21 from OSHA and was developed by the joint efforts of
Laborers Health and Safety Fund of North America (LHSFNA), American Road
and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), National Asphalt Pavement
Association (NAPA), and International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).
The program contents are available in both English and Spanish.
Cooperative Programs
Organizations can work cooperatively with OSHA through its many cooperative programs, including OSHA’s
Alliance Program. Further, there are
numerous national and regional/area office Alliances that have a
Hispanic
outreach and training component. Please be sure to contact the
OSHA national office or your
Regional Alliance Program Coordinator
for additional Alliance Program information.
eTools
The following are electronic compliance tools that have either been
translated into Spanish or contain Spanish-language resources.
- Construction: Preventing Fatalities.
Despite its high fatality rate, construction work can be performed
safely when workers are aware of the hazards and follow an effective
safety and health
program. This eTool will help you identify and control the hazards that
commonly cause the
most serious construction injuries.
- Ergonomics: Sewing and Related Procedures.
This eTool provides examples of ergonomic hazards
and solutions specific to workers in the sewing industry.
-
Poultry Processing Industry.
This eTool provides numerous Spanish-language compliance assistance
resources related to the poultry processing industry.
Regional and Area Offices
The OSHA regional/area offices
are available to assist employers and Hispanic workers in outreach,
education, and training. Further, OSHA has designated regional
Hispanic/English-as-a-Second Language (ESL)
Coordinators to assist employers with outreach, education and training
to their Spanish-speaking workforce. Please contact your
regional coordinator for additional information.
State Programs
Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970
encourages states to develop and operate their own job safety and health
outreach and training programs. OSHA approves and monitors
state programs and
provides up to 50 percent of an approved plan's operating costs. A number of state plan states
offer
Spanish-language resources. For
example, Oregon OSHA has developed a new, easy-to-use
PESO Training Program for employers to deliver job safety training to Hispanic workers
though a series of Spanish-language training modules including excavation,
fall protection and hazard communication.
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Step 4: Where to Find OSHA Training Requirements and How They Apply to Spanish-Speaking Employees
Spanish-speaking employees accounted for a disproportionate number of
workplace fatalities in 2006. Hispanic employee fatalities accounted for 16 percent of the 5,703
total fatal work injuries in the U.S. The rate of 4.7 fatalities per 100,000 employees for
Hispanic employees was 21 percent higher than the rate of 3.9 fatalities per 100,000 employed
for all employees. This appears to be due in part to the fact that Hispanic employees are
disproportionately employed in higher-risk occupations, such as construction and manufacturing,
where proper training is essential to a safe workplace. For example, the construction industry
accounts for approximately 7 percent of all employment, but approximately 20 percent of
workplace fatalities. Hispanic employees comprise almost 15 percent of the construction
workforce, a percentage somewhat above their representation in the overall workforce.
Many standards promulgated by OSHA explicitly require an employer to train employees in the
safety and health aspects of their jobs. OSHA considers training to be an essential part of
every employer’s safety and health program for protecting employees from injuries and illnesses.
An effective program of safety and health training, communicating information in a manner that
employees are capable of understanding, can provide numerous benefits, including fewer injuries
and illnesses, better worker morale, and lower insurance premiums.
To help employers, employees, safety and health professionals, training directors, and others to
locate relevant OSHA training provisions, the Agency has excerpted and collected its
training-related requirements in OSHA publication #2254,
"Training
Requirements in OSHA Standards and Training Guidelines" (also available as a 720 KB
PDF).
This publication can serve as a guideline to employers as they develop safety and health training
programs for their Spanish-speaking employees. The complete list of OSHA standards, and a
searchable database of OSHA’s interpretations of those standards, is available online on
OSHA’s
Laws, Regulations and Interpretations Web page. In addition, the Agency issued the "OSHA
Training Standards Policy Statement" on April 17, 2007, which reiterates OSHA's policy that employee
training required by OSHA standards must be presented in a manner that employees can understand.
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Step 5: How to Work Cooperatively with OSHA to Reach Your Employees
OSHA has a variety of
cooperative programs under which employers, employees, and organizations
can work with the agency to improve worker safety and health. The following
are some examples of OSHA's efforts to reach out to
Spanish-speaking workers and their employers.
- Alliance Program. The following are the OSHA Alliances that currently include an Hispanic
Outreach component.
- Strategic Partnership Program. The
following are examples of OSHA Partnerships that involve the creation or distribution of
Spanish-language resources:
-
Consultation Program.
The Consultation Programs received FY 2002 funding to translate compliance
assistance materials into Spanish. Sample results include the Texas
Workers' Compensation Commission’s Safety and Health Library that lists
numerous Spanish-language safety and health fact sheets including hazard
communication, heat stress and machine guarding.
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Step 6: Contacts at OSHA for Additional Hispanic Outreach Information
OSHA has designated regional
Hispanic/English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) Coordinators in each of
its 10
regions to assist organizations with outreach, education and training for
their Spanish-speaking workforce. The Coordinators also serve as the
region’s liaison to the Agency’s Hispanic
Taskforce and the OSHA national office.
Please contact your regional coordinator for additional
information.
Additionally, the OSHA Directory,
which is a collection of national, regional, state plan and on-site consultation
contact sources incorporated within the Hispanic Outreach Module, also may be a valuable reference resource after completing the above
steps.
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Step 7: Where to Find Additional Spanish-Language Outreach Materials
U.S. Department of Labor
For additional information regarding Spanish-language resources from other
Federal agencies and non-governmental organizations, please see the
following OSHA Compliance Assistance for Hispanic Employers and Workers webpages:
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Hispanic Outreach: OSHA Directory
The OSHA Directory contains contact information for the
OSHA national, regional/area offices, state programs, and consultation programs
that are incorporated within the Hispanic Outreach Module of Quick Start. Please
contact any of these respective offices for any additional information.
- OSHA National Office
-
The
Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs (DCSP)
coordinates OSHA's role in carrying out
training and education for employers and employees, implementing
consultation and cooperative programs,
and coordinating the agency’s compliance assistance and outreach
activities, as well as the agency's relations with state plan states.
- The Directorate of Construction
administers workplace safety
standards and regulations to ensure safe working
conditions for the nation's construction workers; and coordinates
with and provides assistance to other
regulatory agencies on the implementation and enforcement of major
construction laws and standards.
- The Directorate of Enforcement Programs (DEP) provides the OSHA family and the public with guidance on how to comply with
the requirements of OSHA standards. DEP provides this guidance in the form
of
Directives and
Interpretations
that detail or explain how Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHO's)
are to enforce OSHA standards and how employers are expected to comply with
OSHA standards. DEP provides guidance in the areas of General Industry,
Maritime, Whistleblower Investigations, and Federal Agencies and in Health
areas of Construction.
- Office of Publications
maintains a listing of available safety and health publications that can be
mailed or downloaded via the OSHA Web site.
- OSHA 1-800 Number. Callers to OSHA’s 1-800 number may now access a
Spanish-language option to further assist Spanish-speaking employers
and workers in need of additional safety and health information.
- Regional/Area Offices are available to
assist employers and Hispanic workers in outreach and training.
-
Alliance Program Coordinators have been
designated by OSHA to coordinate the regional implementation of the Alliance Program.
-
Hispanic/ESL Coordinators have been
designated by OSHA to assist employers with outreach, education and training
for their Spanish-speaking workforce.
- State Programs. States are encouraged to develop and operate
their own job safety and health programs. OSHA approves and monitors state
programs and provides up to 50 percent of an approved plan's operating costs.
- Consultation Program. OSHA offers employers, particularly small businesses,
free on-site safety and health services through its Consultation Program.
-
Directorate of Training and Education develops policy and implements
programs designed to educate and train students in the recognition, avoidance,
and prevention of unsafe and unhealthful working conditions.
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*These files are provided
for downloading only.
Accessibility Assistance:
Some documents are available as text-enabled PDF documents. If additional assistance is needed in
reading/reviewing these documents, please contact the Office of Outreach Services and Alliances at
202-693-2340. |
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