Occupational Fatal Injuries Affecting Hispanic Workers in the

United States in 2014 - More Prevention Work is Needed

Rixio E. Medina, CSP, ASP, STS, CPP Board of Certified Safety Professionals

Champaign, IL

Introduction In 2014, 804 Hispanic workers died in the United States from occupational related injuries. This is a 1.6 percent reduction in the number of reported cases as compared to the 817 Hispanic workers killed on the job in 2013, according to U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Revised Report Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (BLS), as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Number of Fatal Occupational Injuries for Hispanic Workers, 2004-2014. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

902 923990

937

804

713 707749 748

817 804

596638 667 634

503429 441

512 484542 513

306 285323 303 301 284 266 237 264 275 286

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100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

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1000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Hispanic Workers' Occupational Fatal Injuries in the U.S. 2004-2014

Total Foreign Born US Born

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The preliminary result reveals that every day of the year two Hispanic workers died from job related injuries, comprising 16.7 percent of the 4,821 fatal occupational injuries reported in the U.S. in 2014, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Fatal Occupational Injuries for Worker’s Race or Ethnic Origin. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014. This paper discusses data about Hispanics and Hispanic workers in the U.S., the characterization of the occupational fatal injuries affecting Hispanic workers in 2014, some of the accident prevention strategies applied to protect these workers, and the need to reinforce the development of safety competency of Hispanic workers’ front-line supervisors to help improve their safety performance. Discussion Hispanics and Hispanic Workers in the United States The impact created by Hispanic workers’ fatal injuries is greater than the number of cases reported in the U.S. To fully understand the severity that the inadequate safety performance of Hispanic workers could pose to the nation’s social and economic wellbeing, we need to consider the following information related to Hispanics and Hispanic workers, published by the U.S. Census Bureau1 and the BLS2 : • In 2014, the Hispanic population of the U.S. increased 1.2 million (2.1 percent) as compared

to 2013, reaching a new high of 55.4 million (17.4 percent of the total U.S. population).1 • Hispanics accounted for 48.3 percent of the 27.7 million foreign-born persons in the U.S. labor

force.2 • Hispanic workers in the U.S. made up 16.1 percent (approximately 23.5 million) of the total

workforce in 2014.2

69.1%

16.7%9.9%

2.8% 1.5%0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

White Hispanic Black or AfricanAmerican

Asian Others

Perc

ent

Fatal Occupational Injuries by Worker's Race or Ethnic Group2014

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• The unemployment rate for foreign-born Hispanics was 5.9 percent in 2014, while U.S. born Hispanics’ unemployment rate was 8.8 percent.2

• Ten percent of Hispanic workers were represented by unions in 2014.2 • Hispanic is the largest ethnic or racial minority in the U.S. as of July 2013.1 • The world’s second largest Hispanic population lives in the U.S., second only to Mexico, as of

2010.1 • Of Hispanics 5 years of age and older, 74 percent spoke Spanish at home in 2012.1 • Of Hispanics 25 years of age and older, 64 percent had at least a high school education in 2012.1 • The Hispanic population is projected to increase to 25 percent of U.S. total population by 2030,

as presented in Figure 3.1

Figure 3. Percent Hispanic of the U.S. Population: 2004-2040. Source: U.S. Census Bureau 1980 Decennial Censuses; July 1, 2013, Population Estimates; 2012 National Population Projections. Fatal Injuries Cases The latest revised Hispanic workers’ occupational fatal injuries data was reported by BLS in September 2015 and is summarized in Table 1.

Just like the information published by the BLS for 2013, the most recent data reveals that the majority of Hispanic workers killed by occupational injuries in 2014 were male, wage and salary workers, born outside the U.S., Mexico being the predominant birthplace country. The leading characteristics of these workers include their occupation as being in the construction trade, the accidents as having happened in the construction industry, those incidents being transportation incidents, with accidents happening mostly in the states of Texas and California, vehicles being the primary source causing the injuries, as workers perform vehicular and transportation activities, with multiple body parts of workers affected. The majority of the fatalities happened between the months

6% 9% 13%

17%

19% 22%25%

Census

Estimate

Projection

Hispanic of the U.S. Population1980-2040

2040 2030 2020 2013 2000 1990 1980

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of April and September, with Wednesday having the highest count in the work week, and industrial places or premises as the leading locations.

Table 1. Characterization of Occupational Fatal Injuries Data. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Preliminary Report Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2014.

Characteristics Sub characteristics Number of Deaths

Percentage

2014 2013 2014 2013 Fatal Injuries 804 817 Place of Birth Foreign-Born 513 542 64 66

Native-Born 291 275 36 34 Leading Birthplace Countries for Foreign-Born

Mexico 336 360 42 44 El Salvador 23 51 3 6 Guatemala 39 37 5 5 Honduras 23 21 3 3 Cuba 34 19 4 2

Employee Status Wage and salary workers 697 723 87 89 Self-employed 107 94 13 11

Gender Women 41 42 5 5 Men 763 774 95 95

Age 19 years or less 12 16 1 2 20 to 24 years 74 66 9 8 25 to 34 years 181 178 23 22 35 to 44 years 211 219 27 27 45 to 54 years 170 180 21 22 55 to 64 years 111 118 14 14 65 years and over 45 39 5 5

Leading Occupations

Construction trades workers 186 198 23 24 Motor vehicle operators 122 109 15 13 Ground maintenance workers 59 70 7 9 Agriculture workers 44 55 6 7 Material moving workers 55 51 7 6

Leading Industries Construction 233 241 29 30 Administrative and support, waste management, remediation services

100 116 13 14

Transportation and warehousing 84 83 10 10 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting

68 70 9 9

Manufacturing 64 54 8 7

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Table 1. Characterization of Occupational Fatal Injuries Data. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Preliminary Report Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2014.

Characteristics Sub characteristics Number of Deaths

Percentage

2014 2013 2014 2013 Leading Events or Exposure

Transportation incidents 289 267 36 33 Fall, slips and trip 178 179 22 22 Contact with objects, equipment 122 169 15 21 Violence, injuries by person or animals

111 113 14 14

Fires and explosions 28 19 4 2 Leading State of Incident

Texas 206 192 26 24 California 130 194 16 24 Florida 60 68 8 8 New York 50 32 6 4 Arizona 31 25 4 3

Primary Source Causing the Injury

Vehicles 308 299 38 37 Persons, plants, animals, minerals 140 137 17 17 Structure and surfaces 124 140 15 17 Machinery 75 78 9 10 Parts and materials 40 49 5 5

Part of Body Affected

Multiple body parts 354 364 44 45 Head 177 183 22 22 Body system 121 109 15 13 Trunk 101 124 13 15 Neck 39 30 5 4

Worker Activity Vehicular and transportation operations

291 266 36 32

Construction, repair, cleaning 209 224 26 27 Using or operating tools/machinery 111 100 14 17 Physical activity, walkinh 61 52 8 6 Material handling 43 65 5 8

Trimester of Incident

January – March 164 165 20 20 April – June 213 226 27 28 July – September 236 225 29 27 October – December 191 201 24 25

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Table 1. Characterization of Occupational Fatal Injuries Data. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Preliminary Report Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2014. Barriers Affecting Hispanic Workers’ Safety Barriers identified by several stakeholders as common conditions that affect the safety performance of Hispanic workers include: • Working hazardous or dirty jobs in hazardous industries such as construction and agriculture. • Limited English proficiency and communication difficulty with supervisors and coworkers. • Workers’ cultural barriers, perceiving risk and relationship with people in position of authority

differently. • Insufficient or no knowledge of how to safely use tools, machinery, equipment and material. • Lacking knowledge of workers’ rights and an unwillingness to report job hazards or unsafe

working conditions for fear of losing their jobs, retaliation or, in some cases, deportation. • Limited or improper use of personal protective equipment. Hispanic Workers’ Supervisors - Safety Force Multiplier Many initiatives to improve the safety and workers’ rights knowledge of Hispanic workers have been implemented by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), state plans, and professional, trade, faith-based and labor organizations in the past 10 years. These initiatives helped reduce Hispanic workers’ work-related fatalities by approximately 200 in 2014, as compared to the fatalities registered in 2006. The emphasis so far has been to distribute information in Spanish, provide more worker training such as the OSHA 10 and 30 hours training, provide additional assistance to small employers, and increase regulatory enforcement. Recently, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) supported the translation of 52 toolbox talk topics developed by The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR), in close cooperation with NIOSH. The toolbox talks include case studies, discussion questions, and site-specific actions now available in Spanish.

Characteristics Sub characteristics Number of Deaths

Percentage

2014 2013 2014 2013 Day of Week of Incident

Monday 131 141 16 17 Tuesday 137 126 17 16 Wednesday 142 133 18 16 Thursday 127 149 16 18 Friday 134 124 17 15 Saturday 75 96 9 12 Sunday 58 42 7 5

Leading Location Industrial place and premise 236 242 30 30 Street and highway 235 213 30 26 Private residence 132 126 17 15 Public building 68 83 8 10 Farms 46 51 6 6 Employers’ parking lots 23 23 3 3

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Unfortunately, some employers fail to recognize and effectively develop their front-line crew leaders/supervisors’ safety competency as a critical component in achieving better safety performance among Hispanic workers. Leaders and supervisors with safety competency are critical when no full-time safety professionals are available to continuously support workers in the field. Supervisors have the greatest opportunity to implement actions that have a positive impact on safety performance of Hispanic workers on a daily basis, improving the company’s bottom line results. Companies that exhibit exceptional safety performance understand that safety is a function of management and supervision. These companies develop and support their supervisors’ safety competency. Safety Competent Supervisors are truly a Safety Force Multiplier.

The Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), with the participation of hundreds of

certified safety professionals, test assessors and certification experts, has defined the safety competency criteria for supervisors. Again, this criteria is not for safety professionals or practitioners, but for line-organization supervisors. The criteria is currently composed of 13 roles or responsibilities, 73 areas of knowledge and 71 skills essential to support safe work practices and conditions. Some of these areas of responsibilities, include: • Risk assessment and pre-task hazard analysis • New employee orientation • Evaluation of work practices to minimize risk of work injuries and incidents • Coaching and correcting • Take appropriate action for unsafe acts and conditions • Facilitate a proactive safety culture • Develop and provide safety training

BCSP also established related education and experience requirements, as well as a process to test, certify and maintain certification of supervisors’ safety competencies. BCSP is a not-for-profit organization with over 45 years of experience setting and certifying safety technical competency criteria for safety, health and environmental practitioners worldwide, enhancing careers, advancing the profession and protecting society. The Safety Trained Supervisor (STS) - geared toward manufacturing, transportation and general industry - and the Safety Trained Supervisor Construction (STSC) are the certifications for supervisors administered by BCSP. By the end of 2015, more than 8,700 managers and supervisors achieved the STS or STSC certifications.

Many incidents happen because adequate supervisor safety competency is not available at

the right time and right place. These incidents can become catastrophic events when the safety competency required to reduce or mitigate the impact is lacking. Hispanic workers will benefit from having the support and guidance of supervisors or crew leaders with demonstrated competencies in safety and health continuously available at the worksites. Conclusion The number of Hispanic workers’ occupational fatal injury cases preliminarily reported in the U.S. by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was three percent lower in 2014, as compared to 2013. Despite this small reduction in fatalities, the number of fatal injury cases in 2014 was at least five percent higher than each year between 2009 and 2012. On the other hand, the U.S. Census Bureau projects a significant growth of the Hispanic population. Work-related fatal injuries among Hispanic

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workers have the potential of becoming a bigger problem, with a large social and economic impact to the U.S. The periodic safety education of employers, supervisors and Hispanic workers will provide a solid foundation to improve the safety performance of Hispanic workers in the U.S. In addition to the prevention strategies in use, the incorporation of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals’ STS and STSC certifications can energize organizations’ line managers and supervisors, reducing Hispanic workers’ occupational fatal injuries and acting as Safety Force Multipliers. Bibliography Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 2015. “National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2015 (Revised Results).” (www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf).

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 2015. “Fatal occupational injuries incurred by Hispanic or Latino workers, 2009-2014.” (www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/hispanic.pdf).

Death of the Job, The Toll of Neglect, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), 23rd Edition, 2014, Washington, DC.

NIOSH, ASSE [2015]. Overlapping vulnerabilities: the occupational safety and health of young workers in small construction firms. By Flynn MA, Cunningham TR, Guerin RJ, Keller B, Chapman LJ, Hudson D, Salgado C. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2015- 178.

The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR). Spanish Resources. (www.cpwr.com).