Susan Harwood grants offer $3.2 million for workplace training on infectious diseases

Washington — OSHA has made available more than $3.2 million in grants for workplace training on infectious diseases as part of its Susan Harwood Training Grant Program.

“The grants will fund training and education to help workers and employers identify and prevent work-related infectious diseases, including COVID-19,” an agency press release states. “Training topics must focus either on COVID-19 specifically or infectious diseases broadly.”

Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the grants are available to nonprofit organizations, including community and faith-based organizations, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, Native American tribes, and local and state-sponsored colleges and universities. The maximum amount for each grant is $160,000 for “a 12-month performance period.”

The deadline to submit applications is May 6.

The funding is separate from other Harwood grants for targeted topic, training and educational materials, or capacity building. Applicants can receive one of those grants and one of the infectious diseases training grants in the same year.

Of note: Beginning April 4, OSHA will change its Data Universal Number System to a “new, nonproprietary identifier requested in and assigned by the System for Award Management.” That new identifier is known as a Unique Entity Identifier. For more information, go to SAM.gov.