AGREEMENT RENEWING AN ALLIANCE
BETWEEN
KANSAS CITY, OMAHA, ST. LOUIS, WITCHITA OFFICES
OF REGION 7
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
IOWA DIVISION OF LABOR DEPARTMENT OF INSPECTIONS, APPEALS, AND LICENSING (DIAL)
AND
THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA on behalf of its COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH, HEALTHIER
WORKFORCE CENTER OF THE MIDWEST

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Kansas City, Omaha, St. Louis, Wichita, Area Offices, and Iowa Division of Labor Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL), and the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest (HWC) in the University of Iowa College of Public Health continue to recognize the value of maintaining a collaborative relationship to foster safety and health practices and programs to improve American workplaces.  To that end, OSHA, and the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest (HWC) in the University of Iowa College of Public Health hereby renew the Alliance signed March 10, 2021, with a continued emphasis on behavioral health issues.  Through the alliance, the organization will continue to provide HWC members and the public with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect workers by reducing and preventing exposure to workplace hazards and address behavioral health issues, understand the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act).

This agreement provides a framework and objectives for the Alliance’s activities.  Alliance participants also agree to meet the requirements for program participation laid out in the “Fundamental Requirements for OSHA Alliance Program Participants” and the “Guidelines for OSHA’s Alliance Program Participants: Alliance Products and Other Alliance Projects.”

Through the Alliance, the organizations will use injury, illness, and hazard exposure data, when appropriate, to help identify areas of emphasis for Alliance awareness, outreach, and communication activities.  The Alliance will also explore and implement selected options, including but not limited to member surveys, to evaluate the Alliance and measure the impact on improving workplace safety and health.  In renewing this Alliance, OSHA, Iowa OSHA (DIAL) and HWC recognize that the On-Site Consultation Program partners are an integral part of the OSHA national effort, and that information about the products and activities of the Alliance will be shared with these partners for the advancement of common goals.

Raising Awareness: Outreach and Communication

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• Share information on OSHA’s National, Regional and Local Initiatives to address behavioral health (including both mental health and substance abuse) topics in the workplace and opportunities to participate in initiatives and the rulemaking process.
• Share information on occupational safety and health laws and standards that support behavioral health, including the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers.
• Use existing surveillance to examine impact of behavioral health on workplace injury and illness, the need to reduce stigma associated with behavioral health and treatment, and identify programs, practices, and policies that can be used to address these topics. Communicate such information (e.g., print, and electronic media, electronic assistance tools, and OSHA and the HWC websites) to employers and workers in the industry.
• Speak, exhibit, or appear at OSHA and HWC conferences, local meetings, or other events promoting behavioral health in the workplace.
• Convene or participate in forums, roundtable discussions, or stakeholder meetings on behavioral health in the workplace to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.
• HWC will share summary information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding good practices or effective approaches to address behavioral health in the workplace through training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).
• Collaborate with other Alliance participants on specific issues and projects addressing behavioral health in the workplace.
• Encourage HWC to build relationships with OSHA’s Regional and Area Offices to address health and safety issues, including behavioral health.
• Utilize a multimedia approach to promote efforts to address behavioral health in the workplace.

Training and Education

The Participants intend to work together to achieve the following objectives:

• Develop programs, practices and policies, and materials to be delivered at the workplace (e.g., Toolbox Talks) addressing the impact of behavioral health on workplace injury and illness, the warning signs of suicide, the need to reduce stigma associated with behavioral health and treatment, and the benefits of a workplace that supports recovery.

OSHA’s Alliances provide organizations an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative relationship with OSHA for purposes such as raising awareness of OSHA’s initiatives, outreach, communication, training, and education.  These Alliances have proven to be valuable tools for both OSHA and Alliance participants.  By entering into an Alliance with an organization, OSHA is not endorsing or promoting, nor does it intend to endorse or promote, any of that organization’s products or services.

An implementation team made up of representatives of each organization will meet one to two times per year to track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the Alliance.  OSHA team members will include representatives of the Kansas City, Omaha, St. Louis, and Wichita, Area Offices, and any other appropriate offices. OSHA will encourage the Iowa OSHA On-Site Consultation program’s participation on the team.

This agreement will remain in effect for five years.  Any signatory may terminate their participation in the Alliance for any reason at any time, provided they give 30 days’ written notice.  If OSHA chooses to terminate the Alliance, they will give all signatories 30 days’ written notice. This agreement may be modified at any time with the written concurrence of all signatories.

Signed this 11th day of August, 2023.