The Public Sector Star Program is designed to recognize and award state agencies and local governments for their leadership in occupational safety and health. The participants in this program are successful in protecting employees from death, injury, and illness by implementing comprehensive and effective safety and health management programs. Public Sector Star participants willingly share their experience and expertise, and they encourage other public sector entities to work toward comparable success. These worksites are self-sufficient in their ability to control hazards at their worksites.
Note: The Public Sector Star Program is created solely for the participation of state agencies and local governments. Participation will vary depending upon Total Recordable Case (TRC) rate, Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) case rate, number of employees, and how each prospective participant is separated into establishments, departments, and/or divisions.
Participation
The term for participation in an approved Public Sector Star Program is open-ended so long as the participating worksite continues to maintain its excellent safety and health management systems as evidenced by a favorable onsite evaluation by the Star Program evaluation team within 36 months of the initial Star Program evaluation, and every 60 months thereafter. In addition, the worksite is required to submit the required Star Annual Report (“SAR”), which includes annual TRC and DART rate data, safety and health management system evaluation.
Public Sector Star participants are proactive and partner with the N.C. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Division in an effort to prevent fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through a system focused on:
- Management commitment and leadership
- Employee involvement and participation
- Hazard identification and evaluation
- Hazard prevention and control
- Safety and health training
Benefits of being a Public Sector Star Worksite
- Improved employee motivation to work safely, leading to better quality and productivity.
- Reduced workers’ compensation costs.
- Recognition in the community.
- Improved safety and health management systems and performance.
- Star participant sites generally experience from 60 percent to 80 percent fewer lost workday injuries than would be expected of an “average” site of the same size in their industries.
Contact Information
If you are interested in Public Sector Star, please contact LaMont Smith, Carolina Star's recognition program manager, or call 919-707-7852 for more information.