US Department of Labor announces $12.7M in grants awarded to promote workplace safety, health training, education

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded $12.7 million to 102 nonprofits nationwide to fund education and training initiatives designed to create safer workplaces.

Administered by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, funds from the Susan Harwood Training Grants Program will support the delivery of training and education on hazard awareness, avoidance and controls, and inform workers of their rights and employers of their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. This round of funding was awarded to programs in the categories of targeted topic training, training and educational materials development, and capacity building.

“The Susan Harwood Training Grants are a critical investment that the Department of Labor makes to help workers know their rights and power – in turn making their workplace safer and healthier,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “This grant honors Dr. Harwood’s remarkable legacy of safeguarding workers from workplace hazards throughout her years at the Department of Labor. I’m eager to witness the impact these organizations will achieve in her name.” 

The grants are named in honor of the late Dr. Susan Harwood who served as the director of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment. In 17 years with the department, she was instrumental in developing federal standards that today protect people from workplace hazards, including asbestos, benzene, bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, formaldehyde and lead.

“These grants are our most effective tool for connecting organizations with needed resources to train and educate hard-to-reach workers in high-hazard industries,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas L. Parker. “Training is a key part of ensuring vulnerable workers understand what protections should be in place in their workplace and to know their rights.” 

OSHA awards grants to nonprofit organizations, including community and faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor-management associations, Native American tribes, and local and state-sponsored colleges and universities. Targeted training audiences include small-business employers, limited English proficiency workers, as well as workers identified as illiterate/low literacy, disadvantaged, underserved, low-income, minority and others hard to reach.

The 2024 Susan Harwood Training Grant awards will provide training and education to at-risk and marginalized workers across the nation. They are listed by category as follows: