The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) announced today that the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program has made $12.7m in training grants available to workers.
The grant is driven by the DoL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The grant system hopes to develop employee safety measures, health training, and education across qualifying workplaces.
DoL announces $12.7m in grants
The grants aim to deliver instructor-led training across a broad swathe of the American working environment, focusing on small businesses, temporary workers, and dangerous workplaces. They also aim to further education and on-the-job staff training.
The 12.7 million dollars in grants follow the Occupational Safety and Health Act and build on the legacy of workplace safety advocate Dr. Harwood.
The federal standards in place today are linked to the work Dr. Hardwood accomplished with the OSHA Office of Risk Assessment over seventeen years.
Her work was instrumental in creating a legal industry standard for workplace hazards, including asbestos, benzene, bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, formaldehyde, and lead.
The training will be delivered in the following categories according to the DoL statement:
- Programs that identify and prevent workplace hazards. Applicants must conduct training on OSHA-designated workplace safety and health hazards.
- Educational materials. For the development of quality, classroom-ready training and educational materials in which workplace hazards and prevention methods are identified.
- Capacity building. For assessing needs and formulating plans to create full-scale safety and health education programs, expand capacity to provide existing occupational safety and health training, education, and related assistance to workers and employers
The DoL has updated its list of eligible applicants. They comprise “qualifying labor unions; community-based, faith-based, grassroots organizations; employer associations; Native American tribes, tribal organizations, Alaska Native entities, Native Hawaiian organizations, and native-controlled organizations that are not an agency of a state or local government; and public/state-controlled institutions of higher education.”
Education has been a large part of the DoL’s activity this month as the entity announced a new training grant for those in the mining trade.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced the news on the Department of Labor website. The new grant will be made available this fiscal year for the 2024 State Grants program.
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