Thursday, April 24, 2025
4/24/2025
SAFE ACTIONS FOR EMPLOYEE RETURNS (SAFER) - The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed how the American workforce operates now and will operate in the future. As Americans struggle to adapt to a new normal in their everyday routines, employers face a set of extreme challenges in learning how to keep their employees safe and healthy in the world of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases that may arise. As a nonprofit occupational safety and health organization, the National Safety Council (NSC) is dedicated to saving lives from the workplace to anyplace. In response to the growing concern about safely returning workers to traditional work environments from its 15,500+ member organizations, NSC established SAFER (Safe Actions for Employee Returns) to provide trusted guidance to employers during the COVID-19 pandemic. SAFER brings together a task force of leading voices in safety from businesses, health providers, government entities, public health organizations, trade associations and others to leverage a broad expanse of expertise, knowledge and influence. SAFER meets the needs of companies across the nation by providing clear and timely recommendations for sustainable, safe operations for employers and workers as they navigate the changed world of work. To date, SAFER results include data-driven publications and resources to guide companies, both broad-based and industry- and risk- specific, to safely return and continue work during a pandemic. These materials, based on a comprehensive aggregation and analyzation of current data, practices and insight from the SAFER task force provide the most comprehensive clearinghouse of workplace safety recommendations in the country. With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), NSC proposes to expand on SAFER activities to provide greater reach and impact for keeping workers and the communities in which they live safe from COVID-19 transmission and future pathogens. With a foundation of expertise in place through the SAFER task force, Campbell Institute companies and NSC membership base, NSC has the capacity to further inform and adapt CDC guidance for workplaces during the pandemic. SAFER will expand efforts to inform and integrate populations facing greater safety risks including contract workers, temporary workers and those who experience language barriers. NSC will also conduct rigorous evaluation of resource impact and outreach initiatives to ensure employees and their communities are protected during a pandemic and provide data to adjust as needed to meet these goals. Additionally, NSC will work to ensure more workplaces have pandemic response plans. As key members of their communities, employers play an important role in combating community spread of COVID-19. To ensure employers have timely and comprehensive guidance to keep their employees safe, NSC, with the CDC’s partnership, will effectively develop and adapt life-saving recommendations and procedures to keep workers safe from the workplace to anyplace.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).