OSHA Offering $10.5 Million in Grants for Training Programs

Last Friday, OSHA announced that $10.5 million in funds will be available for three Susan Harwood Training Grants. Applications for these grants must be submitted by midnight on Sunday, September 2^nd, 2018.

The Susan Harwood Training Grants provide “training and education for workers and employers on workplace safety and health hazards, responsibilities, and rights.”

The grant targets industries with underserved, low-literacy, and high-hazard workers and employers.

Eligible recipients include nonprofit organizations (including community and faith-based organizations), employer associations, labor unions, joint labor and management associations, Indian tribes, and colleges and universities.

OSHA awards grants to the Susan Harwood program every year. Solicitation for the program is a function of congressional budgetary approval by the Department of Labor.

The program has been around since 1978, but was renamed in 1997 after Susan Harwood, a former director for OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment.

The $10.5 million total includes three separate funding opportunities:

• Targeted Topic Training grants require the recipient to put the funds toward improvement of the specified topic that OSHA has outlined in that year’s announcement. OSHA will select the topic based on fatal statistics, national emphasis programs, and pending regulations.

• Training and Educational Materials recipients must develop, evaluate, and validate classroom quality training materials on one of OSHA’s targeted topics.

• Capacity Building grants support organizations in their development of occupational safety and health training programs.

The purpose of each of these grants is to “provide training and education programs for employers and workers on the recognition, avoidance, and prevention of safety and health hazards in their workplaces and to inform workers of their rights and employers of their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”

For more information about the Susan Harwood grants, check out OSHA’s Susan Harwood Overview Page on its website.

If your company is interested in applying, visit the government-wide grants.gov website. Here, you can electronically apply for the grant. Give yourself plenty of time to complete the application. The registration process for the grants.gov website takes 3-5 days alone.

The Susan Harwood website has a list of current grantees, success stories, and more. Review those resources here.

These grants are just another example of how OSHA is leading the way in creating safer and healthier workplaces for employees across the country.

What are some of the safety issues that you could improve in your business or organization? Remember: think safety first, and safety always!