Work Place Compliance For Temporary Workers

According to data released by OSHA, fatalities of contract workers and temporary employees accounted for 12% of all workplace deaths last year. Employers have a responsibility to take care of their temporary workers and ensure they are not harmed while on the job. In order to do so, companies should be informed about the various laws regulating temp employees in the workplace. Both staffing agencies and employers have responsibilities to the worker. OSHA recently launched an initiative aimed at protecting contract employees. This will require imputing a new code when a temporary worker is exposed to a health or safety violation. It also requires training in a language that the individual can understand.

In addition to ensuring workplace compliance through training, all hiring parties need to remember that temps must be treated with the same respect as permanent workers. No more than you would ask a permanent employee to forgo safety regulations should you recommend that temporary workers not follow safety regulations. Doing so opens you and the agency up for problems with OSHA.

How to Ensure Compliance for Temporary Workers

• Maintain good communication.

When it comes to upholding compliance, maintaining good levels of communication between the temp agency and your office is essential. It is important so that you and the host agency can maintain the conditions necessary to be fully compliant. Ensure that you have a written agreement with the agency, so that all parties agree on what the necessary provisions are exactly.

• Ensure that the agency is aware of possible hazards.

If there are workplace hazards involved with the employment of temporary workers, be sure to make the hosting agency aware of this. Staffing agencies are in a position to provide the necessary training. Employers are responsible for providing safety training specific to the tasks the temp will be required to perform.

• Be open about illnesses and injuries.

For compliance, it is important to communicate any illness or injury that you are aware of that affects an employee’s ability to work with the recruitment agency and your organization. In case of workers compensation involvement, it is necessary to specify if the injury occurred on the job and fill out a full accident report.

• Confirm that the staffing agency has insurance.

Recruitment agencies should carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover temporary workers for workplace injuries. Do not assume that they do – be sure that they do. Otherwise, should an injury occur while you employ the contingent staff member, you could find yourself at the receiving end of a lawsuit.

• Make accommodations for temp employees.

When a temp is disabled, do your part as an employer to ensure that the appropriate accommodations are made. Even if the staffing agency who provided you with the employee does not comply, it is vital that you ensure total compliance to the Americans with Disabilities Act and avoid discrimination of any kind.

Key Takeaways for Employers

Ensuring that your company meets all the safety obligations required by law should be a priority, as not doing so could ultimately cost you time and money. Working through a professional recruiter can be very beneficial, but be sure that the staffing agency complies fully with the OSHA requirements.

At Labor Finders, we are temp recruitment specialists. We keep open communication with the companies who employ our staff and ensure total workplace compliance for temporary workers. Contact us here today. Alternatively, call us direct on (800) 864-7749 for a chat!