Hispanic Workers Dying at Higher Rates Than Others

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
Friday, June 6, 2008; 3:00 AM

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THURSDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Hispanic workers face a greater risk of dying from work-related injuries, with one in three deaths occurring in the construction industry, U.S. health officials said Thursday.

Between 1992 and 2006, 11,303 Hispanic workers died from work-related injuries. This represents approximately 13 percent of all work-related deaths in the United States during that time, a higher rate than for white or black workers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Work-related fatalities are going down for the workforce in general, but the disparity between Hispanic and non-Hispanic is persistent and not going away," Dr. Sherry Baron, coordinator of the Occupational Health Disparities Program at the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, said during a teleconference.

"In 2006, the rate was 25 percent higher in Hispanics compared to all workers," Baron said. "Most striking is the especially high rate for foreign-born Hispanic workers. Foreign-born Hispanic workers had a 70 percent higher rate of work-related injury deaths compared to native-born Hispanic workers," she said.

According to previous CDC research, Hispanic workers are at greater risk because of language and cultural barriers and inadequate training and supervision.

And while the immigration status of the workers in the new study couldn't be ascertained, it may also have played a role, Baron said. "As with all workers who are in a marginal economic situation, immigrant workers may be afraid to speak up about safety concerns because of fears of retaliation," she said.

Hispanics represent the fastest growing segment of the U.S. workforce. In 2006, approximately 19.6 million U.S. workers were Hispanic. Of these, 56 percent were foreign-born, according to a report in the June 6 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The average age of Hispanic workers who died from work-related injuries was 35, compared with 42 for other workers. Also, 95 percent of Hispanics who died were men.