North Carolina, Raleigh- In April, a 22-year-old woman was crushed to death by an industrial machine during her work shift at the Northeast Foods processing plant in Johnston County. In May, a 48-year-old employee of an industrial cleaning company in Montgomery County slipped from a scaffold and died. In June, a 39-year-old farm worker met the same end after being trapped between a pickup truck and a trailer at Bottomley Evergreens & Farms in Yadkin County.
The three workers who died prematurely had something in common: they were of Latino origin, like 15 other people who died in workplace accidents in North Carolina between October 2021 and July 2022.
During this period, the state recorded 45 fatal workplace injuries among North Carolina workers, meaning that 40 percent of employees who died on the job in the state were Latino, even though this population only represents the 10 percent of North Carolina residents.
According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, this has not been an atypical year. Analyzing death records from the state's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and Office of Vital Records, researchers found that between 2000 and 2017, with the exception of one year, Latino workers experienced the highest rate of occupational death among all racial and ethnic groups.
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Job segregation
The study's finding confirms other studies that, historically, black and Latino workers, especially those in the South, see higher rates of death from workplace accidents than white workers.
“There is evidence in previous research that one explanation for these inequalities is structural employment segregation, meaning that the riskiest jobs are performed by African American or Latino workers,” lead researcher Morgan Richey explained in an email. “Other evidence points to economic factors; For example, not all workers can refuse requests for overtime or a dangerous assignment if their supervisor insists, because it may cost them their job. Another study focuses on employer behavior: Do they provide quality, well-fitting [personal protective equipment], good training, and enforce safety protocols?”
The study does not take into account immigration status. Richey explained that formal research on workplace fatalities among undocumented workers versus others with work permits is limited, although some studies have compared fatal workplace injury rates between foreign-born Latinos and U.S.-born Latinos, and found that Foreign-born Latino workers tend to fare worse.
Between October 2021 and July 2022, the state recorded 45 fatal workplace injuries among North Carolina workers, meaning that 40 percent of employees who died on the job in the state were Latino, even though This population only represents 10 percent of North Carolina residents.
“Among the little research I could find focused on undocumented workers, the undocumented factor was described as a social determinant of workplace injuries,” Richey explained.
That means that being undocumented is one of the main conditions that affects a person's ability to stay safe at work. That makes sense given the evidence documenting the poor working conditions these workers face. Additionally, many are unable to report poor conditions publicly for fear of retaliation from employers, such as dismissal, or even deportation.
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Higher rate, but declining
However, this scenario also has some hope. Even though death rates are higher than other groups, Latinos have actually seen an overall decline in the number of workplace deaths in recent decades. This is also true for other racial and ethnic groups.
“Due to the work of the states and the federal government, we have seen large reductions in the rate of fatal workplace injuries across the country; “This is one of the major achievements of public health efforts in the United States,” Richey said. “We also found that result in our study, as the death rate among Latino workers in North Carolina decreased dramatically between 2000 and 2017.”
In North Carolina, that work is handled by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the Department of Labor. Through bilingual billboards, social media campaigns and other initiatives, the department aims to teach workers how to recognize and report hazards at work.
They also offer “consultation visits” to workplaces, where OSHA staff identify potential (or obvious) hazards for employers so they can fix them before someone is injured.
However, Richey said some preliminary evidence shows that death rates are not declining universally and may remain high in certain industries.
According to data from the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration, from October 2021 to July 2022, construction is the industry with the highest fatality rate. These fatalities most often occur from falls, electrocution, or being struck or crushed by equipment.
Many undocumented workers work in this dangerous industry: A 2021 analysis by the Center for American Progress estimated that nearly a quarter of all undocumented immigrants work in construction.
“No matter what your legal status is in the United States or in North Carolina, everyone has the right to a safe and healthy work environment,” said Grant Quiller, health consultant for the North Carolina Department of Labor. “If you go back to the days of Upton Sinclair, and you look at the working conditions of immigrants back then, this is a problem that has always existed.”
The state labor department does not collect data on the legal status of workers and encourages all employees to file any complaints or concerns regarding the safety of their jobs.
Investigations after a death
State OSHA staff investigates every workplace death. The process is like this: Employers have eight hours from the time they learn a fatality has occurred to notify the agency, and then the department sends an inspector to take photos, interview the employer and other employees, take measurements, etc
During this process, the department opens investigations into all companies involved.
“If there is an intermediate roofing contractor that hired the subcontractor that was doing the work, and if there was a builder that hired the intermediate subcontractor, we will open inspections with all the companies involved,” explained Paul Sullivan, deputy assistant commissioner of the Division of Health. and Occupational Safety within the North Carolina Department of Labor.
Once the inspector has completed his investigation, if he finds sufficient evidence, he issues a citation describing the problem in the workplace. The company can appeal the citation or agree to the violation. In that case, the department issues a financial penalty to the workplace.
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Greater capacity for preventive inspections
However, inspections not related to a workplace death are a little different.
The department performs about 2,000 of these each year. About half of them are pre-planned and take place in permanent, high-risk workplaces such as manufacturing plants, while the other half are at construction sites. Construction inspections are the result of a compliance officer noticing a safety issue, or the office receiving a complaint from a worker.
If you notice a hazard at your workplace, or if you believe your boss is not following OSHA guidelines, you have the right to file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, regardless of your immigration status.
How to file a complaint
Submit a report online with the state or federal Department of Labor
Call 1-800-625-2267 or 919-779-8560
Visit your local OSHA office
Complete and mail this form to your local OSHA office
When submitting a report online, you will need to attach your name to the complaint so the agency can contact you. But, OSHA will NOT reveal your identity to your employer if you request it.
While 2000 inspections may seem like a lot, the office estimates there are more than 200 jobs in the state, so they can't inspect every possible problem.
“This situation is not just in North Carolina,” explained Jennifer Haigwood, director of the state's OSHA division. “We have about 114 budgeted positions for safety and health compliance officers for the entire state, and we actually have one of the largest programs in the United States.”
And, Haigwood added, many of those budgeted positions are now vacant due to the current labor shortage.
“I think most of us can agree that it's worth it to make work as safe as possible,” said Richey, the researcher.
“While I think that should be enough, there's also the economic argument: Workplace deaths are extremely costly,” he said, noting that the National Safety Council estimated that workplace deaths left more than of $163 billion in 2020.
“Any person with a lifelong injury knows that the cost of a serious injury can be a financial burden, but it also involves lifelong pain, medical expenses and a serious reduction in quality of life,” Richey said. “As we reevaluate what work is like in America, this could be the perfect time to reconsider our policies, procedures and values.”
PODCAST
After the storm
A year ago, Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina. The Latino community responded with something stronger than the storm: solidarity.
🎧 In this episode, learn how Latino organizations transformed crisis into resilience.
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