Coalition issues safety recommendations for temp workers

Boston – A coalition of workplace safety groups has released a set of recommendations for OSHA to help improve safety for temporary workers.

Released publicly Nov. 4 during a press conference, the recommendations were presented to OSHA and agency administrator David Michaels two days earlier in Boston at a forum on temporary worker health and safety. They include clarifying health and safety responsibility in dual-employer settings, targeting large staffing agencies, including temporary staffing agencies as part of OSHA’s data initiative, and having inspectors learn how temporary workers are trained and what safety materials they receive.

“Temp workers often fall through the cracks,” Linda Delp, chair of the Occupational Health and Safety Section for the Washington-based American Public Health Association, said during the press conference.

According to Delp, several factors lead to increased risk of injury for temporary workers, including lack of health benefits and sick leave, job insecurity, fear to raise safety concerns, and inexperience.

The coalition is made up of APHA, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, and the National Staffing Workers Alliance.