OSHA's New Focus on Temp Workers

Randy Coffey’s article “OSHA’s New Focus on Temp Workers” was featured in the September Issue of Thinking Bigger Business.

Several studies purport to show that temporary workers are more likely than their full-time counterparts to experience on-the-job-injuries. Last year, saying that instances of temporary worker injuries or fatalities are rising because these workers aren’t receiving adequate safety training or safety protection. OSHA issued the Temporary Worker Initiative, which applied even to the smallest business.

In the article, Randy addresses how to comply with OSHA’s new Temporary Worker Initiative. OSHA encourages host employers and staffing agencies to work collaboratively to ensure temporary worker safety. Both entities should make sure their contracts:

• Identify who is accountable for each aspect of training.
• Spell out how each party’s responsibilities will be accomplished.
• Specify that information about their mutual employees will be shared.
• Provide that the agency will notify the host employer about temporary employees’ work comp claims, and that the employer will share information about injuries with the staffing agency.
• Outline how the two entities will openly share information on safety, including training provided, potential workplace hazards and what the employer is doing to address them, and the staffing agency’s site visit evaluations.
• Address how the company and the agency will address temporary worker injuries or illnesses to prevent future incidents.