US Labor Department's OSHA awards $10.7 million in safety and health training grants to 72 organizations

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today awarded $10.7 million through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program to 72 nonprofit organizations, including community/faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, and colleges and universities.

The goals of the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program are to provide training and education for workers and employers on the recognition, avoidance, and prevention of safety and health hazards in their workplaces, and to inform workers of their rights and employers of their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Target trainees include small-business employers and underserved low-literacy workers in high-hazard industries. Since 1978, more than 1.8 million workers have been trained through this program.

The award categories for fiscal year 2012 grants include Capacity Building Developmental, Targeted Topic Training, and Training and Educational Materials Development.

"The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers and employers are provided education and training on identifying and preventing serious workplace hazards. The grants awarded by the federal government today will provide workers and employers in some of the most dangerous industries with important tools to identify and eliminate such hazards," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

Sixteen new organizations have been awarded a total of $1.6 million in grants for Targeted Topic Training, and Training and Educational Materials Development. Both grant types require that recipients address occupational safety and health topics designated by OSHA, and support the development of quality training materials and educational programs that address identifying and preventing workplace hazards.

OSHA has awarded approximately $785,000 in new Capacity Building Developmental grants to seven organizations whose past activities have demonstrated their ability to provide occupational safety and health training, education, and related assistance to workers and employers in high-hazard industries; small-business employers; and vulnerable workers. Organizations selected to receive these grants are expected to institutionalize organizational capacity to provide safety and health training on an ongoing basis.

An additional $8.3 million representing follow-on grants has been awarded to 49 FY 2011 Capacity Building Developmental grantees that performed satisfactorily during the last year and provided awardable applications this year.

"The programs funded by these grants provide thousands of workers and employers with critical health and safety training and education. These programs are unique in that they provide in person, hands-on training that will have a long-lasting impact on improving workplace safety and health," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels.

The training grant program is named in honor of Susan Harwood, a former director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA's former Directorate of Health Standards, who passed away in 1996. The programs receiving grants are designed to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths by providing the knowledge and tools that workers and employers need to identify and correct workplace safety and health hazards. The Susan Harwood Training Grant Program is an essential component of OSHA's efforts to provide workers in high-risk industries with training about job hazards and their rights. It also provides employers with crucial information about unsafe working conditions, mitigation strategies and other responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

For information about the FY 2012 Susan Harwood Training Grant Program recipients, visit

• http://www.osha.gov/dte/sharwood/2012_grant_recipients.html
• http://www.osha.gov/dte/sharwood/2012_grant_targeted_recipients.html

More information on the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program is available on OSHA's website at http://www.osha.gov/dte/sharwood/index.html. Public inquiries should be directed to Kimberly Mason at mason.kimberly@dol.gov or Jim Barnes at barnes.james@dol.gov or by phone at 847-759-7700.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.