OSHA Actively Engaging Latino Workers

April 6, 2011

By: Michael D. Billok

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been making significant efforts to educate the Latino workforce regarding safe work practices, OSHA’s safety and health regulations, and workers’ rights. This initiative began in force in April of 2010, when OSHA held the first National Action Summit for Latino Worker Health and Safety in Houston, Texas. Over 1,000 people attended the summit, the stated goal of which was “[r]educing injuries and illnesses among Latino workers by enhancing knowledge of their workplace rights and improving their ability to exercise those rights.” Workshops included topics such as “Innovative Partnerships and Effective Education for Latino Workers: Focus on Latino Construction Workers,” and “Workers’ Rights Under OSHA and DOL: Focus on Construction Hazards.”

Since that initial national summit, OSHA has held several regional summits, including one in northern New Jersey in July, 2010, and another in New York City in November. The latter summit featured a 15-minute skit entitled “How to File an OSHA Complaint.” In February, 2011, OSHA held a summit in Oakland, California, that was featured on the evening Telemundo and Univision newscasts throughout the entire San Francisco Bay Area. Future OSHA summits are scheduled for southern New Jersey and Philadelphia in April. The April 10, New Jersey summit is entitled “Making a Difference: Learn about Your Worker Rights and How to Voice Concerns When Those Rights are Violated.”
 

Clearly, OSHA is encouraging the Latino workforce to look for, and report, any suspected health or safety violations. As Dr. David Michaels, the head of OSHA said in a recent speech, OSHA is trying to “inoculate” the Latino workforce “against rogue employers who seek to exploit them.” With that in mind, how might this initiative affect your workplace, and what actions should you be taking?

• Ensure that all of your employees—both those for whom English is their primary language and those for whom it is not—fully understand your company’s safety and health policies and procedures. It is the employer’s obligation to ensure employees are not exposed to hazards, and thus the employer’s obligation to ensure that non-English speaking employees understand the safety requirements of a particular practice. OSHA provides a list of resources for employers with Latino employees, including a website, and its 800 number with Spanish-speaking operators, 1-800-321-OSHA.
• Make sure that all of your employees, regardless of their primary language, know your company’s procedure for reporting any workplace injuries or illnesses, and that they can report any workplace injury or illness without fear of reprisal.
• Remember the Occupational Safety and Health Act explicitly prohibits retaliatory or discriminatory action against an employee who has raised an OSHA violation. For example, OSHA recently settled a whistleblower case against two construction companies, where an employee was allegedly fired for complaining about an unsafe crane lift. The companies paid $17,500 in back wages.

Workplace safety is a universal issue that must span any language barriers. By ensuring that your non-English speaking employees are fully cognizant of your workplace’s safe work practices and policies, you can minimize workplace hazards and reduce the possibility of a complaint-based inspection.