Fliers for Spanish safety-class are in English

The Utah Safety Council is trying to address high rates of on-the-job injuries among Hispanics by holding free workplace-safety courses for Spanish speakers.

However, there's a problem, according to Joanne Milner, community relations program manager at Horizonte Instruction and Training Center. The fliers advertising the Spanish-language course are written in English.

Utah Safety Council President Robert Parenti says the fliers are written in English because they're targeted at English-speaking employers and multicultural community organizations.

Parenti said the assumption is that "most employers have individuals who are multilingual," and can communicate the information. He said a Spanish version of the flier, available online at www.utahsafetycouncil.org is under development and will be available on request.

The one-day general safety course is conducted entirely in Spanish. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration-certified instructor speaks Spanish, and the course materials are in Spanish, he said.

Milner, however, questioned how employers who can't communicate safety instructions to Spanish speakers can communicate information about the course "if it's all in English."

Milner said when she received the flier recently, she called the Utah Safety Council to ask if the information was available in Spanish.

"I was astounded. . . . He said, 'We don't have to provide this in Spanish. This is the United States,' " Milner said. "It's inconsistent with the whole concept. . . . What if a Spanish-speaking person were to call in?"

Parenti acknowledged an employee had given such a response, adding, "it shouldn't have been said."

"It really takes away from what we're trying to do, and that is keep individuals who aren't fluent in English safe on the job," he said. "That's the bottom line."

The courses are paid for by an annual grant from the Utah Labor Commission, $18,000 for this fiscal year, to address a rising "frequency and severity" of injuries among Hispanic workers, said Peter Groesbeck, Labor Commission program coordinator.

Workplace fatalities among Hispanic workers nationwide, especially those in construction, have risen nearly 35 percent over the past decade, according to the OSHA. During the same time, OSHA reports workplace fatalities overall have dropped 20 percent.