Sept. 1—Immigrant workers are dying on the job at a far greater rate than native-born workers, a new AFL-CIO study of on-the-job deaths and injuries reveals.
Workplace fatalities among all foreign-born workers increased by 46 percent between 1992 and 2002 (the latest figures available) and Latino workers fared even worse, with a 58 percent jump in on-the-job deaths in the same time period, according to Immigrant Workers at Risk: The Urgent Need for Improved Workplace Safety and Health Policies and Programs.
The increase in immigrant death rates far outpaces the growth in the number of foreign-born workers in the workforce. Between 1996 and 2000, the share of foreign-born employment increased by 22 percent, but the share of fatal occupational injuries among those workers jumped by 43 percent.
Report Recommends Steps to Improve Safety and Health Protections
The report recognizes many immigrant workers “toil in high-risk occupations, work in the unregulated ‘informal’ economy and often fear reporting workplace injuries. Many are not aware of their legal rights to safety and health on the job and to workers’ compensation if they are injured.”
Immigrant Workers at Risk also examines several successful outreach attempts by unions and community groups to educate immigrant workers on worksite hazards and about their legal rights on the job. It looks at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) actions and areas in which OSHA can improve their efforts.
The report’s 13 recommendations to improve safety and health protections for immigrant workers include: strengthening whistle-blower and anti-retaliation provisions for all workers—regardless of their immigration status—who exercise job safety rights and raise job safety concerns; requiring employers to provide safety and health training in a language understood by workers; and expanding the language capabilities of OSHA inspectors and other personnel for better communication and outreach to immigrant workers.
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Download Immigrant Workers at Risk: The Urgent Need for Improved Workplace Safety and Health Policies and Programs in English or Spanish.
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