April is Hispanic Safety Month

April designated Hispanic Safety Month
Rgj.com, STAFF REPORT • March 23, 2009

With Nevada’s Hispanic population steadily increasing, safety on the job remains an important issue for the state’s employers. To help promote the significance of this topic, the Safety Consultation and Training Section of the State of Nevada’s Division of Industrial Relations has designated April as Hispanic Safety Month.
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For the fifth consecutive year, Nevada will use the month of April to highlight and support the well-being of Nevada’s Hispanic workforce.

Nationally, the Hispanic workforce experiences a high number of injuries and fatalities on the job. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the 908 fatal work injuries involving Hispanic or Latino workers in 2007, the highest number of fatalities after the Caucasian workforce.

Nevada is not immune to these statistics. In 2007, the last complete year of data, 18 percent of fatal occupational injuries and 29 percent of non-fatal injuries in Nevada involved employees of Hispanic or Latino origin. This number may be understated as Hispanic workers’ injuries are not often reported due to citizenship issues.

“Although we are experiencing a smaller workforce, safety training to Nevada’s Hispanic workforce is a critical part of ensuring safer environments on job sites across the state,” said Jan Rosenberg, chief administrative officer for SCATS. “With a smaller workforce, employers become less willing for their employees to attend safety trainings.

However, without this safety training, the actual cost of a lost time injury exceeds the cost of safety training.”

Free bilingual classes on safety and health in the workplace will be offered in Reno, Las Vegas and Elko during Hispanic Safety Month, and periodically throughout the year, to educate Nevada’s Hispanic employees on how to remain safe in the workplace.