May 24, 2002—A new Spanish language publication, Todo Sobre La OSHA (All About OSHA), will help Spanish-speaking employees understand more about safety and health in the workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced May 21, 2002. The publication is a translation of All About OSHA, a 61-page booklet that covers job safety, employers’ duties, and workers rights, and offers extensive information on how to make workplaces safer.
This Spanish version manual is part of OSHA’s growing outreach to Spanish-speaking workers, including a recently launched Spanish-language Web site, new data collection efforts to track non-English-speaking employees and employers, and Spanish-language options for OSHA’s 800 number, 800/321-OSHA.
Todo Sobre La OSHA lists OSHA offices throughout the country, describes employer and employee responsibilities, legal rights, and the inspection process, and provides guidance for consultations. The manual offers an overview of OSHA and its mission, and provides a list of resources for employers and workers.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2000 the fatality rate for Hispanic employees climbed by more than 11 percent, while deaths for all other groups declined. As a result of this unacceptably high rate, in August 2001 OSHA established an ongoing task force to reach across language barriers to employers and workers. This task force is exploring ways to improve communications and to offer Spanish-speaking employers and workers access to a range of information that can help make their workplaces safer.
The new Spanish-language manual can be ordered through OSHA’s Publications department at 202/693-1888.
