The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has awarded $80,000 to the Institute on Disability (IOD) for a Capacity Building Project to address this shortage of occupational health and safety training for workers with IDD.
IOD's Capacity Building Pilot will be led by Mary St. Jacque for one-year -with an option for an extension- and addresses New Hampshire's shortage of occupational health and safety training for workers with IDD using the Staying Safe at Work (SSAW) curriculum, which was developed in partnership by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP) at the University of California, Berkeley. Training topics for the one-year pilot will assess the following areas:
- Introduction to workplace health and safety;
- Looking for job hazards;
- Making the job safer;
- Staying safe in an emergency at work;
- Your health and safety rights and responsibilities on the job;
- Speaking up when there is a problem.
The IOD was one of 80 nonprofit organizations nationwide who received funding for education and training programs to help workers and employers recognize serious workplace hazards, including the coronavirus, implement injury prevention measures and understand their rights and responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
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 2020 award categories are as follows: Targeted Topic Training, Training and Educational Materials Development, and Capacity Building.
The program honors the late Susan Harwood, former director of OSHA's Office of Risk Assessment, who died in 1996. During her 17-year OSHA career, she helped develop federal standards to protect workers exposed to bloodborne 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.
