Responsibilities to Protect Temporary Workers
The Occupational Safety and Health Act was created to ensure employees work in a safe environment. OSHA is concerned that medical, dental, and veterinary office employers use temporary workers to avoid fulfilling their training and other compliance obligations. Some offices intentionally place temporary workers in relatively hazardous situations. Consequently, OSHA recognizes that temporary workers can be more vulnerable than regular employees.
It is essential that BOTH staffing agencies and healthcare office employers comply with OSHA training requirements.
Joint Responsibility
According to OSHA, both temporary staffing agencies and office owners share control over the temporary worker – they are JOINTLY responsible for employee safety. OSHA recommends that both the staffing agency and office specify in their respective contracts their unique responsibilities for complying with OSHA standards. By including these specific terms in their agreements, staffing agencies and office owners can be sure that they are compliant with ALL relevant requirements.
Failure to adequately train temporary employees can result in OSHA imposing fines on both the staffing agency and office owner.
Take Action to Keep Your Temporary employees Safe
Each employer should consider the hazards that it can prevent. Staffing agencies should provide GENERAL safety training while office owners should provide training SPECIFIC for their particular environment. Communication between the staffing agency and the office owner is essential to ensure that the temporary employees are completely protected.
Both Host Employers and Staffing Agencies Have Roles
Both host employers and staffing agencies have roles in complying with safety requirements.
Staffing agencies should determine what hazards their temporary employees may encounter at the host offices and how best to ensure their protection. Staffing agencies also are responsible for verifying that practice owners have fulfilled their responsibilities for a safe workplace. Contact San Diego Healthcare Compliance to learn ways your staffing agency or healthcare facility can comply with OSHA and infection control requirements and implement best practices.
Remember! OSHA does NOT consider ignorance of hazards as an excuse to send a temporary employee into an unsafe office.
