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Senate bill targets construction workers' suicide risk with a CDC study
The proposed study would examine whether gaps in EAP and mental health benefits contribute, as construction has 982 fatal work injuries in 2023 versus 5,095 suicides the same year.
Construction workers die by suicide at a rate that far exceeds nearly every other US industry, according to data cited by Insurance Business. CPWR estimates about 5,000 suicide deaths in 2024, at 41.9 per 100,000 workers.
The industrys suicide toll also dwarfs its fatal injury count, with construction recording 982 fatal work injuries in 2023 compared with 5,095 suicides that year, the outlet reports. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada introduced the Constructing the Path to Suicide Prevention Act in August, which has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
The bill would direct the CDC to run a national study on risk factors behind suicide among construction workers. Variables would include access to healthcare, mental health benefits, and employee assistance programs.
Insurance Business reports that construction workers are less likely than the national average to have EAP access, citing TELUS Health data showing 38 percent lack it versus 31 percent of workers overall. It also notes that many construction workers are seasonal, part-time, or subcontracted, groups that are often excluded from employer-sponsored benefits.
Among other factors the study would assess are work and organizational conditions, chronic pain, and substance use. The outlet cites TELUS Health data that about 34 percent of construction workers report chronic pain and about 45 percent use prescription medication for it, and it says CPWR has documented elevated opioid use among injured construction workers.