Several states pay part of the cost of training your employees. Most of these grants fund new skills rather than routine compliance training, so the first question is always what the program accepts. Here is what the official program pages say, state by state, and where else documented safety training can pay for itself.
Where safety training is accepted
- Pennsylvania, WEDnetPA: workplace health and safety (OSHA, lockout/tagout, fall protection, forklift, PPE…) is among the eligible topics; up to $2,000 per employee and $50,000 per company, in the listed industries.
- Texas, Skills for Small Business: businesses with fewer than 100 employees, $1,000 per current employee, training by a public community or technical college; OSHA and safety courses are considered when a participating college or TEEX offers them. Larger projects go through the Skills Development Fund, with a college or workforce board as applicant.
- Kentucky, Bluegrass State Skills Corporation: safety, mandated and regulatory training may be eligible up to 25% of the eligible training, in the listed industries.
- California, Employment Training Panel: general training required by Cal/OSHA or OSHA is excluded, but certified safety training such as OSHA 10/30 is accepted.
Where only part of it fits
- Michigan, Going PRO Talent Fund: safety training may be eligible if it is not a cost of doing business; many compliance courses are excluded.
- Florida, Incumbent Worker Training: up to $100,000 per grant for for-profit companies, with a company share of at least 50%; CPR, first aid and new hire orientation are excluded.
- New Jersey (UPSKILL: not for company-required annual training or orientation), Massachusetts (Workforce Training Fund Express: legally mandated courses such as OSHA are not reimbursed) and New York (ETIP tax credit: training required by a federal or state entity is not eligible) fund broader upskilling.
- Washington, SHIP grants from L&I: safety and health projects for your own workers, but not to come into compliance with existing requirements.
- Ohio, BWC Safety Intervention Grant: 3-to-1 matching up to $40,000, for safety equipment only, not training.
Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Carolina have employer training grants too, with no explicit rule on safety training. Programs, rounds and rules change: check the current terms with the state agency before you plan on any money.
Free help, and premiums
OSHA's On-Site Consultation is free and confidential, mainly for smaller businesses, and separate from enforcement; employers in its SHARP program are removed from programmed inspections for at least one year (29 CFR 1908.7). OSHA's Susan Harwood grants go to nonprofits, not to companies. In some states, a certified safety committee or safety program lowers your workers' comp premium: see workers' comp premium discounts and the savings estimate there.
What every program asks for: records
Grants reimburse training that happened, with who attended, for how long and with what result. Keep that record from day one: crew quizzes to keep people engaged (see safety games for employees), then Test mode for a named PDF learning assessment record. It also helps with the training OSHA standards require, such as reviewing the emergency action plan with each employee (29 CFR 1910.38(f)). Quizhat is an independent tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by OSHA.