| The Immigrant Population's Role in Construction |
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| Written by Jacob M. Monty | |
| Thursday, 27 March 2008 | |
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Capitalize on Hispanic WorkforceAs the immigrant population continues to grow, employers should adopt new business practices to capitalize on the strengths of their multicultural workforce. It is important to communicate effectively with Hispanic workers and other immigrant groups to increase business productivity and minimize risks involved in employing immigrants. In 2006, there were a total of 354 Hispanic construction fatalities, accounting for 27 percent of all construction fatalities. This means the industry not only loses valuable employees, but also unnecessarily exposes itself to lawsuits. The high number of injuries is attributed to a high number of Hispanics working dangerous jobs, language barriers, horseplay and misuse of equipment, as well as fear of jeopardizing their employment status. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) provides several resources to effectively communicate with Hispanic workforces. OSHA's website (www.osha.gov/dcsp/compliance_assistance/index_hispanic.html) provides employers with many resources, such as electronic assistance tools, training, publications and even a Spanish-English dictionary of OSHA terms, general industry terms and construction terms that facilitate communication with the Hispanic workforce in order to prevent and reduce injuries and illnesses. Employers should provide formal training for supervisors and their workers in Spanish. Training should include the identification, evaluation and prevention or control of general workplace hazards and potential hazards that arise in the construction industry. Make it a best practice to provide the same training in Spanish and English, and translate everything into Spanish or any other language predominantly used by the employer's immigrant workforce. Employers should remember they have a duty to provide personal protective equipment, at no cost to the employee, in all operations where there is an exposure to hazardous conditions or where the wearing of such protective equipment will reduce the hazard. OSHA recently issued the final rule on Employer-Paid Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). While the rule went into effect February 13, 2008, employers have until May 15, 2008, to change their existing PPE payment policies to accommodate the rule. Training in Spanish and PPE will ensure that Hispanic employees have a clear understanding of health and safety rules. Also, promote activities that ensure immigrants feel they are part of the team and encourage them to bring up problems or safety concerns. Employee participation should develop the workers' commitment to safety and health protection for themselves and their co-workers, and therefore, help lower the number of injuries and fatalities. Furthermore, Hispanics and other immigrant groups would also benefit from training on U.S. culture and laws. Train Hispanics on Equal Employment Opportunity laws pertaining to sexual harassment and racial issues, including racial interaction between Hispanics and coworkers of other races. Establish a best practice of when the use of English is required for communication purposes rather than establishing an English-only policy because courts will award damages to employees whose employers institute an English-only policy. For example, a Chicago manufacturer was forced to pay over $190,000 for the disparate treatment of Hispanic employees after instituting an English-only rule. Also seek to understand the cultural differences of the Hispanic workforce. While the majority of the Hispanic workforce is from Mexico and Central America, there are cultural differences among Latin American countries. Understanding cultural differences will avoid national origin discrimination lawsuits. By taking affirmative steps to identify and examine the complex issues that arise with immigrants in relation to employment, immigration laws and health and safety regulations, construction owners will be able to capitalize on this major source of workers. Jacob M. Monty is managing partner of Houston's Monty Partners, LLP, the largest Hispanic-owned law firm in the south. Along with attorneys board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Monty Partners has forty retired ICE agents who work with the firm auditing employers throughout the country. Monty Partners, LLP, is an employment, labor and immigration law firm, and more info can be found at www.montypartners.com. Comments (0)
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