"…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 Labor Cabinet’s award program for the state’s employers and their employees. The Thoroughbred Safety and Health Award provides special recognition for outstanding safety and health performance for smaller employers and encourages development of programs designed to reduce and even eliminate occupational injuries and illnesses. The Thoroughbred Safety and Health Award is given to employers and their employees, who together have achieved two years without experiencing a lost-time injury or illness at their establishment.
 
The award is mounted on an attractive wooden plaque and signed by the Commissioner of the Department of Workplace Standards and the Director of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health Education and Training. The award may be presented at the recipient’s establishment or during either the Governor’s Safety and Health Conference and Exposition held annually in May or the Conference on Construction Safety held annually in January. 
 




Thoroughbred Safety and Health Award Eligibility Criteria
An establishment, within the geographical boundaries of the state of Kentucky with 50 employees or less, within a high-hazard NAICS, or as determined on a case-by-case basis is eligible to apply for this award. An establishment may qualify for the award if its employees together achieved 24 months of continuous work without experiencing a lost-time injury or illness. The establishment must have received a written safety and health report within the previous 12 months or agree to a comprehensive safety and health survey from the Division of Education and Training. An establishment may be eligible for an award every two years providing there were no recordable injuries and illnesses resulting in lost work days during the previous 24 months.
​
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).
 
To apply for the Thoroughbred Safety and Health Award, complete an award application and mail the completed application along with your 300A summary, 300 logs to:
Kentucky Labor Cabinet
Division of Education and Training
Ste 4, 1047 U.S. 127 South
Frankfort, KY 40601
Use this link to download the Thoroughbred Safety and Health Award Application - Thoroughbred Award Application 
​
Presentation of Award
The winner of a Thoroughbred 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 establishment or during either the annual Governor’s Safety and Health Conference or Conference on Construction Safety.
 
If the employer chooses to have the award presented at the Governor’s Safety and Health Conference, the application must be postmarked prior to March 1 of each year. If the employer chooses to have the award presented at the Conference on Construction Safety, the application must be postmarked prior to Nov. 1 of each year. (Applications must be mailed to the Kentucky Labor Cabinet address indicated above and be received at least six weeks before the award is to be presented.)
 
For those employers who wish to have the award presentation made at their establishment, we encourage a celebration ceremony. 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.)​