Whether temporary or permanent, all workers have a right to a safe and healthy workplace. The staffing agency and the staffing agency’s client (known as the host employer) are joint employers of temporary workers and, therefore, both are responsible for providing and maintaining a safe work environment for those workers. The staffing agency and the host employer must work together to ensure they fully meet the requirements set forth by OSHA.
To ensure that there is a clear understanding of each employer’s role in protecting employees the temporary staffing agency and the host employer should set out their respective responsibilities for compliance with applicable OSHA standards in their contract. Both host employers and staffing agencies have roles in complying with workplace health and safety requirements and they share responsibility for ensuring worker safety and health.
A key concept is that each employer should consider the hazards it is in a position to prevent and correct, and in a position to comply with OSHA standards. For example: staffing agencies might provide general safety and health training, and host employers provide specific training tailored to the particular workplace equipment and hazards. OSHA in conjunction with NIOSH has developed a great resource to help you with your temporary worker plan development and it can be found at: OSHA Temporary Workers
Have you developed an onboarding plan for temporary workers to ensure they have received the same training as full-time permanent employees in your faculty? If not give me a call or send me a message and I can help you develop a plan of action to improve safety for your faculty while reducing risk.