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OSHA
and NIOSH have published recommended practices for staffing agencies and host
employers to optimally protect temporary workers on the job.
The
publication focuses on ensuring that temporary workers receive the same
training and protection that existing workers receive. Suggestions include contracts
that clearly define a temporary worker's tasks and the safety and health
responsibilities of each employer, as well as continual contact between staffing
agencies and temporary workers to ensure that the host employer fulfills its
responsibilities.
Assistant
Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels
announced the publication at the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants'
Association annual conference in National Harbor, MD.
"An
employer's commitment to the safety of temporary workers should not mirror
these workers' temporary status," Michaels says. "Whether temporary
or permanent, all workers always have a right to a safe and healthy workplace.
Staffing agencies and the host employers are joint employers of temporary
workers and both are responsible for providing and maintaining safe working
conditions. Our new recommended practices publication highlights this joint
responsibility."