September 20, 2019

U.S. Department of Labor Awards Susan Harwood Workplace Safety and
Health Training Grants to Assist in Educating Workers and Employers

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has awarded approximately $10.5 million in Susan Harwood federal safety and health training grants to 79 nonprofit organizations nationwide. The grants will provide education and training programs to help workers and employers recognize serious workplace hazards, implement injury prevention measures and understand their rights and responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

Under President Trump’s Qualified Opportunity Zones Executive Order, OSHA awarded 54 grants to conduct occupational safety and health training in urban and economically distressed areas.

The Susan Harwood Training Grants Program funds grants to nonprofit organizations, including community and faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor-management associations, colleges, and universities. Target trainees include small-business employers and underserved vulnerable workers in high-hazard industries. The Fiscal Year 2019 award categories are as follows: Targeted Topic Training, Training and Educational Materials Development, and Capacity Building.

Learn more about the 2019 Susan Harwood Training Grant Program recipients.

The program honors the late Susan Harwood, former director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA's Health standards directorate, who died in 1996. In her 17 years with OSHA, she helped develop federal standards to protect workers exposed to blood borne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos, and lead in construction.

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 help 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 www.osha.gov.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

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Media Contacts:

Denisha Braxton, (202) 693-0561, Braxton.Denisha.L@dol.gov
Simone Walter, (202) 693-4686, Walter.Simone.R@dol.gov

Release Number: 19-1674-NAT

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