The New American Workforce: What the Rise of Immigrant Labor Means for Workplace Safety

In recent years, the role of immigrant labor—meaning workers born outside the United States—has become both central and complex in shaping the American economy and workplace.

For Latino migrants in the U.S., understanding how this growth intersects with safety, rights, and legal protections is especially important. With foreign-born workers now accounting for roughly 19.2 % of the U.S. civilian labor force in 2024, up from 18.6 % in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

But as the numbers climb, significant safety and rights gaps remain: many immigrant workers face higher risks of injury and fatality, language barriers, and uncertain legal status—yet many of the protections that apply to U.S. workers do apply to them, regardless of immigration status.

This article is aimed at Latino migrant workers in the U.S., offering clear, practical guidance on how immigrant labor trends impact workplace safety, as well as how to protect yourself on the job.

What is “immigrant labor” and why does it matter now?

When we talk about immigrant labor, we mean the foreign-born workforce—that is, people who were born outside the U.S. (and whose parents were not U.S. citizens at birth), who are now part of the civilian labor force.

This matters because:

• The percentage of foreign-born workers is rising: 19.2 % in 2024.
• Immigrant workers often fill jobs in sectors with higher safety risks (construction, warehousing, food processing, home health care).
• Because of language, cultural or status barriers, immigrant workers may face unique challenges in accessing workplace safety training, asserting rights, and reporting hazards.

As immigrant labor becomes more integral to the U.S. workforce, closing the safety gap is crucial—not just for the employers, but for you, the worker.

The Safety Gap at a Glance

While immigrant workers contribute crucially to the U.S. economy, the statistics also reveal concerning safety trends:

• According to the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) of the BLS, in 2021 foreign-born Hispanic or Latino workers experienced 727 fatal work injuries—an increase from 692 in 2020.
  
• In 2021, 64.3 % of all Hispanic or Latino worker fatalities were foreign-born.
  
• Within those fatalities, certain event types disproportionately affected foreign-born Hispanic or Latino workers: for example, transportation incidents, falls/slips/trips, and contact with objects/equipment.
  
• For example: in the construction industry in 2021, foreign-born Hispanic or Latino workers had 274 fatalities, accounting for 27 % of all deaths in construction that year among that group.

What this means for you: If you are part of the immigrant workforce, you may face higher exposure to hazardous jobs with less training, higher turnover, reliance on temporary staffing, language or cultural barriers—all of which can increase your risk of injury or worse.

Rights & Reporting: What Applies Regardless of Status

One key point: many legal rights apply to all workers—including immigrants with irregular status —when it comes to workplace safety. Let’s break this down:

What your employer must do

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), employers are required to provide a safe workplace, free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious harm. This is often called the General Duty Clause.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Examining workplace conditions to ensure they meet OSHA standards.
• Providing required protective equipment, maintaining safe tools and equipment.
• Ensuring training and information are provided in a manner employees can understand.
  

Your rights as a worker

• You have the right to receive training and information about hazards in a language you understand.
  
• You may request an OSHA inspection and speak to the inspector.
  
• You have the right to refuse to work in a situation you reasonably believe is unsafe (in many contexts) without retaliation.
  
• Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), you are protected against discrimination based on national origin (which includes being foreign-born) and against retaliation for asserting your rights.

For example, rules that force someone to speak only English all the time may violate 29 C.F.R. § 1606.7(b).

• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and OSHA have also made explicit that immigrant and migrant workers should not fear immigration enforcement when reporting safety concerns; OSHA’s expanded authority (effective March 30 2023) strengthens protection for immigrant and migrant workers regardless of status.
  

How to file a report (simple pointers)

• To report a hazard or request inspection: contact OSHA through their website or hotline.
• For discrimination or retaliation: submit a charge with the EEOC or your state fair-employment agency.
• Document: keep records of your training, workplace conditions, injuries, and any employer communications (in your language if possible).
• If you are injured at work: take photographs if safe, notify your supervisor in writing, seek medical treatment, and consider consulting an attorney.

When none is provided, she requests OSHA inspection and files a whistleblower complaint after being told to keep quiet. She is protected despite her immigration status.

Language Access = Safety

One of the most effective ways to close the safety gap for immigrant workers is ensuring training and safety materials are in the workers’ primary language.

• According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), training in workers’ native language improves safety outcomes.
  
• OSHA’s guidance says that training must be “in a manner employees receiving it are capable of understanding,” including in a language other than English if needed.
  
• The American Public Health Association states: “Research has shown that workers are safer and training is more effective when workers receive training in a language they understand.”

High-Immigrant Sectors: Risks & Fast Fixes

Here we examine three sectors where immigrant workers are heavily represented and where safety issues are particularly prominent. We will provide specific hazard-areas and practical controls.

Construction

What are the biggest hazards?

• Falls from heights, slips/trips (particularly in building construction).
• Being struck by objects, caught-in/between machinery.
• Many foreign-born Hispanic or Latino fatalities occur in construction: the BLS reports in 2021 that 263 of the deaths of foreign-born Hispanic/Latino workers occurred in construction and extraction occupations.
  

What practical controls should be in place?

• Fall protection systems: guardrails, harnesses, proper anchor points.
• Supervision by a “competent person” who can recognize hazards and stop unsafe work.
• Task-specific training in the worker’s language: e.g., how to use scaffolding safely, how to inspect tie-offs, how to recognize overhead hazards.
• Toolbox talks in Spanish (or other languages) at the beginning of shift.
• Encourage immediate reporting of hazards: unstable scaffolding, missing planks, open edges.

Food Processing & Warehousing

Hazards

• Machine guarding failures (e.g., slicers, conveyors).
• Lock-out/tag-out (LOTO) failures during maintenance.
• Powered industrial trucks (forklifts) operated too fast or by insufficiently trained workers.
• Heat or cold stress in processing plants or cold-storage warehouses.
• Studies show that foreign-born workers often have less access to machine-safety training.

Practical controls

• Ensure LOTO training is in Spanish, on the correct literacy level, and practice drills.
• Forklift certification in Spanish; clear signage for speed limits and pedestrian zones.
• Provide rest breaks and hydration in Spanish; monitor temperature extremes.
• Near-miss reporting system with bilingual forms and anonymous reporting option.
• Day-1 orientation emphasising safety culture, not just production.

Home Health & Care Work

Hazards

• Worker violence, assault from patients, strains and sprains lifting clients.
• Many immigrant workers (including with irregular status) are employed in home-care settings, which often have less formal safety oversight.

Practical controls

• Employer should provide de-escalation training, with role-play scenarios in the worker’s language.
• Safe‐lifting protocols: use mechanical lifts if required; training from day one in the language you understand.
• Access to personal alarm/panic buttons or a buddy system.
• Encourage reporting of violence or harassment without retaliation; employer must document and act.

North Carolina Note: Workers’ Comp Applies to Immigrant Workers

If you work in North Carolina (NC) or are considering work there, it’s important to know that the state’s workers’ compensation law does apply to immigrant workers, including those with irregular status.

Under North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act, specifically N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-2(2), the term “employee” is defined as:

“…every person engaged in an employment under any appointment or contract of hire or apprenticeship … including aliens … whether lawfully or unlawfully employed…”

Immigrant labor is essential to the U.S. economy—and immigrant workers bring valuable skills, commitment and diversity.

At the same time, the data remind us that foreign-born workers face heightened risks and unique barriers. As an immigrant worker, you have rights: to safe training, to language-accessible information, to protective equipment, and to free expression of hazards without fear of retaliation.

Closing the safety gap means:

• Employers providing inclusive, language-aware training;
• Cultivating a culture of no retaliation when workers report safety concerns;
• Consistent compliance with OSHA and allied standards;
• You asserting your rights, documenting hazards, and seeking help when needed.

If you or a colleague have been hurt, or if you believe your employer is ignoring safety, don’t wait. Contact a qualified attorney who is fluent in Spanish, understands immigrant-worker issues, and can help you explore your legal options.