SafetyBLRcom Helps Employers with this Challenge How to Deliver Required OSHA Training to a Growing Population of Hispanic Workers



March 17, 2005 -- Experts at OSHA recognize the problem, but busy employers are the ones trying to cope with it. Immigrants make up an estimated 14 percent of the U.S. workforce, and nearly half of them are considered to have limited proficiency in English. That translates into a big challenge for employers: how to keep a multilingual workforce in compliance with OSHA's stringent safety and health requirements.

Fortunately for employers, Safety.BLR.com the website for safety professionals that makes training and compliance easier, has just created a Spanish Resources Center at http://safety.blr.com/spanish.cfm. The Center includes Spanish training handouts and quizzes on 54 OSHA topics. It also features news, white papers, forms, guidance documents, regulatory activity, and agency directives and interpretations to help manage occupational safety and health for the Spanish-speaking workforce.

Steve Quilliam, editor at Safety.BLR.com commented on the site's new Resources Center: "OSHA requires companies to make sure their employees understand safety training and follow OSHA requirements. That obligation doesn't change if their employees have a limited understanding of English. So with its prewritten training materials and handouts, our new Spanish Resources Center can be a helpful solution to this challenge."

The 54 training topics in the Resources Center include Spanish handouts and quizzes on confined spaces, defensive driving, electrical safety, and eye protection.

Sample safety meeting for Hispanic workers:
To help employers get their training started, BLR has made available a sample hazard communication training meeting in English and Spanish, similar to those available at Safety.BLR.com. To download this free sample, go to www.blr.com/81001600/PRS3

About BLR
Old Saybrook, Conn.-based BLR produces plain-English compliance and training resources for safety, environmental, HR, and compensation managers. For a free catalog, call 800-727-5257 or visit www.BLR.com.

Contact:   
Safety.BLR.com Managing Editor Steve Quilliam
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860-510-0100 x 2148





SafetyBLRcom Helps Employers with this Challenge How to Deliver Required OSHA Training to a Growing Population of Hispanic Workers