Awards

​​​​​"...to promote safety and health awareness, good sound work practices and to recognize the resulting reduction in injuries and illnesses in the workplace..."

This is the premise behind the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet's award program for the state's employers and their employees. The award is a certificate mounted on an attractive wooden plaque and signed by the governor, the secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet and the commissioner of the Department of Workplace Standards. The award is presented at the recipient's establishment or at the annual Governor's Safety and Health Conference and Exposition.

The award, known as the Governor’s Safety and Health Award, provides special recognition for outstanding safety and health performance and encourages the development of programs designed to reduce and even eliminate occupational injuries and illnesses. The Governor’s Safety and Health Award is given to employers and their employees, who together have achieved the minimum required number of hours worked without experiencing a lost-time injury or illness at their establishment.

Governor's Safety and Health Award Eligibility Criteria

Every establishment within the geographical boundaries of the state of Kentucky is eligible for this award even if the establishment won the award the previous year. The establishment must be free of any egregious safety or health violations for a period of 24 months beginning with the date of issuance of the citation and any pending discrimination complaint or any uncorrected or contested serious violation(s). Eligibility is limited to one award during a 12-month period of time.

An establishment may qualify for the award if its employees together achieved the required number of hours worked without experiencing a lost-time injury or illness. The required number of hours is dependent upon the number of employees and is shown in the following table. Once the minimum hours worked threshold has been achieved, an establishment may be eligible for an award in subsequent years providing there were no recordable injuries and illnesses resulting in lost work days during the previous calendar year.

If your organization has multiple facilities, (multi-establishment), your establishment may qualify as a separate element. To do so, your establishment or operation must be organizationally distinct and geographically distinct from other establishments of the organization.

To be organizationally distinct, your establishment, of a multi-operations organization, must be under separate operating management reporting directly to the head of the organization.

To be geographically distinct, your establishment must by physically separated from other elements by distance or a definable boundary. Establishments in different cities and counties cannot be combined to create more hours earned for the award. Each individual establishment must stand on its own record.

Application Process

To ensure that the requirements are fair and equal to all applicants, approval of the award is based on information contained in the employer's injury and illness records maintained and verified in accordance with the Recordkeeping Requirements of the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Program.

Any employer or individual who knowingly makes a false statement regarding its safety and health record(s) shall upon conviction be punished by a penalty of not more than $10,000 or not more than six months imprisonment or both.
Please refer to KRS Chapter 338.991(8).

Apply for the Governor's Safety and Health Award

Presentation of the Award

The winner of a Governor’s Safety and Health Award will be notified when its application and records have been evaluated and verified. The recipient may elect to receive the award at a ceremony at the employer's worksite or during the annual Governor's Safety and Health Conference. If the employer chooses to have the award presented at the Governor’s Safety and Health Conference, the application must be postmarked prior to June 1 of each year, mailed to the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet and be received at least six weeks before the award is to be presented.

​Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet
Mayo-Underwood Building
500 Mero Street
Frankfort, KY 40601

If you have questions, please contact Lynn Whitehouse at Lynn.Whitehouse@ky.gov​.

For those employers who wish to have the award presentation made at their establishment, we encourage a celebration ceremony. Encouraging local civic and labor leaders to attend a celebration highlighted by greetings from prominent officials representing the employer, employees and government will contribute a great deal to the occasion and publicly demonstrate the employer's and employees' pride in their joint accomplishments. Presentation of the award should be publicized to the greatest extent possible, both for the public relations value and as a stimulus for safe and healthy conduct on the part of employees. (Award recipients will be responsible for making arrangements for media and internal publicity if the event is handled by the employer at the establishment.)