OSHA Awards $10.1 Million in Susan Harwood Grants to 70 Organizations

OSHA is distributing $10.1 million in Susan Harwood grants to 70 organizations ranging from nonprofits and faith-based groups to labor unions and universities.

The one-year grants are for training and education designed to help workers and employers recognize workplace safety hazards, implement injury-prevention measures and learn about their rights and responsibilities.  

Of the $10.1 million in grants, OSHA has awarded approximately $1.6 million in targeted training grants to 18 organizations not included in the FY 2012 program. The training will cover topics such as agricultural safety, ergonomics, fall protection in construction, injury and illness prevention programs and workplace violence.

OSHA has awarded approximately $8.5 million in follow-on grants to 52 of the FY 2012 capacity-building developmental grantees that performed satisfactorily during the last year and submitted awardable applications this year.

The grantees demonstrated their ability to provide occupational safety and health training, education and related assistance to workers and employers in high-hazard industries as well as small-business employers and vulnerable workers, OSHA said.

The recipients of the grants "are expected to institutionalize organizational capacity to provide safety and health training on an ongoing basis," the agendy noted.

"The programs funded by these grants are one of the most effective resources we have for providing important hands-on training and education to hard-to-reach workers in small businesses and dangerous jobs," OSHA Administrator David Michaels said in a news release.

The Susan Harwood Training Grants Program supports in-person, hands-on training, educational programs and guidance on creating training materials.

The program targets small-business employers; workers and employers in industries with high injury and fatality rates; and vulnerable workers, including those who are young, have limited English proficiency and are difficult to reach.

Since 1978, approximately 1.9 million workers have been trained through the program, according to OSHA.

The 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.