OSHA Awards $6.7 Million in Disease Prevention Training Grants

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has awarded  more than $6.7 million in grants to 37 non-profit organizations nationwide to fund education and training programs to help workers and employers recognize infectious diseases and identify preventive measures for a safe workplace. In addition to hazard control, grant-funded programs will include education on employee rights and employer responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

The award includes “Workplace Safety and Health Training on Infectious Diseases, including the Coronavirus” grants funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The grants derive from the Susan Harwood Workplace Safety and Health Training program, named for in honor of the late Susan Harwood, former director of OSHA’s Office of Risk Assessment. In her 17-year OSHA career, she helped develop protective standards on bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.

Grant recipients include community and faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor-management associations, and colleges and universities. Target trainees include small-business employers and workers in high-hazard industries.