Workers Memorial Day

Workers Memorial Day, April 28, was established to recognize workers who died or were injured on the job. On average, 16 workers in the United States die each day from injuries sustained at work , and 134 are estimated to die from work-related diseases . Daily, an estimated 11,200 private-sector workers have a nonfatal work-related injury or illness, and as a result, more than half require a job transfer, work restrictions, or time away from their jobs . An estimated 9,000 workers are treated in emergency departments each day because of occupational injuries, and approximately 200 of these workers are hospitalized . In 2005, workers' compensation costs for employers totaled an estimated $89 billion .

Workers Memorial Day 2008 also will commemorate the thirty-seventh anniversary of the creation of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor. While much progress has been made in preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths since NIOSH and OSHA were created in 1971, more remains to be done. The occasion of Workers Memorial Day encourages us to think of ways in which we all can help to achieve the goal of safer and healthier workplaces. Additional information on workplace safety and health is available online at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ or by telephone, 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636).

Statement by NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D., on Workers Memorial Day 2008.

NIOSH has prepared an e-card to honor Workers Memorial Day.

One public health professional wrote a poem for the occasion of Workers' Memorial Day; listen to him read the performance poem in this podcast (5 minutes 51 seconds)