Workforce Language Services

2007 saw 937 Hispanic worker deaths compared to 533 in 1992 (a 76% increase); nationwide, total fatalities have dropped in that time period (USA Today reports.) Texas alone reported 50 Hispanic workplace deaths last year.

While an increase of Hispanics in the general workforce has increased as well, it’s clear that there are other reasons causing the discrepancy. First, there’s the language barrier—workers who aren’t able to communicate important information to their supervisors, and vice versa, can miss important instructions that lead to accidents. Then, illegal workers are often exploited—not given proper safety tools for example, or are overworked.

Some more reasons cited:

Workers without legal documentation to be in the U.S. are less inclined to join a union, which helps protect workers, or protest when conditions seem dangerous, said Raj Nayak of the California-based National Employment Law Project. “They’re doing the most dangerous work for longer hours,” Nayak said.

Click here to read the full USA Today article, where most info is gathered from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Relatedly, many workers and their families are not aware of their right to compensation when an accident occurs (legal and illegal workers alike).  See post “Lack of safety training keeps Hispanic construction workers dangerously out of the loop.”