Vulnerable Workers Face Higher Risk, Research Reveals

February 17, 2010

Low-wage, low skilled, and immigrant workers face disproportionately high risks for job-related injuries and illnesses compared with other U.S. workers. They also encounter significant barriers in accessing training, healthcare, and legal protections, according to new research. Results of studies by NIOSH and other researchers were described in the article “Occupational Health Disparities,” published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine.

“No one should suffer a job-related injury or illness, least of all those who are most vulnerable to the economic hardship associated with the loss of income from work-related impairment or disability,” commented NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard. The research addresses the need to improve occupational health surveillance.

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