WITC-Safety Day
Rice Lake, WI
April 8, 2014
Mary Bauer CIH, CSP
Compliance Assistance Specialist
Eau Claire, WI 54701
715-832-9019 bauer.mary@dol.gov

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Compliance Assistance Specialist (CAS)
1310 West Clairemont Ave
Eau Claire, WI 54701
715-832-9019 bauer.mary@dol.gov
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Compliance Officer for 20 Years
CAS for 8 Years
All in Eau Claire Area Office
CIH: Certified Industrial Hygienist
CSP: Certified Safety Professional

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Bigger Picture of Temporary Workers
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Understanding of a “Vulnerable” Worker
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Similarities and Differences between a permanent hire and temporary worker
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Shared Responsibilities for Safety Training
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Requirements/Best Practices

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No Inspection Targeting
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CSHOs will inquire if site uses Temp Workers
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Collecting Info: Coded and Tracked
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OUTREACH
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Memo Highlight Concerns
Working w/ Stakeholders to Increase Awareness
Identifying Best Practices
Developing Outreach Material

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Protecting the Safety and Health of Temporary Workers
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4/29/13
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Called Attention to Higher Accident Rate for Temps
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“…citing Bacardi Bottling Corporation following the death of a 21-year old temporary worker on his first day on the job.”
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"A worker’s first day at work shouldn’t be his last day on Earth. We are seeing untrained workers – many of them temporary workers – killed very soon after starting a new job. This must stop," said Michaels. "Employers must train all employees, including temporary workers, on the hazards specific to that workplace – before they start working. Had Bacardi done so, this tragic loss of life could have been prevented."
 https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=IN
TERPRETATIONS&p_id=28613

A man is burned by scalding water and citric acid at work. No one rinses him off or calls 911. Instead, his boss sends him to a small clinic and they finally send him to the hospital. He arrives 98 minutes later.
Carlos Centeno, 50, died three weeks later on Dec. 8, 2011.

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The term "temporary worker" is broadly defined. Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, temporary workers are those who are paid by a temporary help agency, whether or not their job is temporary. For the purposes of this memorandum and the new coding, temporary workers are those supplied to a host employer and paid by a staffing agency.
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Per USDOL-OSHA 4/29/2013 Memo
“Protecting the Safety and Health of Temporary Workers”

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“Temps for Hire”: Screening Process for new ees
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Part Timers
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Limited Employment: University Work Study Prog
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To fill in for sick, injured, vacationing employees
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Summer Help
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To fill gaps during short-term peaks in production
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Christmas
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Agriculture
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Temporary labor may costs less.
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Full time help is not available
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Limits a company’s liability to an employee.

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Vulnerable worker, also called “hard-toreach” worker, could be described as a worker that possesses any of the following characteristics: low-wages, limited education, language-barrier, foreign-born, youth or older worker, temporary employment, day laborer, migrant or seasonal work.
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Crew Leaders
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“Human Trafficking”
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Illegal Sweatshops

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A vulnerable worker is defined as “someone working in an environment where the risk of being denied employment rights is high and who does not have the capacity or means to protect themselves from that abuse”. It goes on to say that whilst “a worker may be susceptible to vulnerability…that is only significant if an employer exploits that vulnerability”.

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Employees were tearing about electronics for recycling.
Lead, cadmium exposures.
Full-time employees were provided different
PPE from Temporary workers
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Respirators, tyveks, heavy work gloves.
Employer’s rationale was to save money
“...because so many don’t stick around long”.

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Employees being exposed to heavy toxic metals and carbon monoxide.
Employees required to wear ½ face elastomeric respirators equipped with cartridges.
Only full-time employees were medically evaluated and cleared for respirator use, temporary workers were just given a respirator.
Employer explained it was due to cost of the medical evaluations.

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Employer was only recording injuries for
“their employees”, which was management, so injury rates were very low (1 or 2 per year).
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Temporary worker injuries numbered over 50 a year, sometimes up to 100. Went unrecorded.
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When confronted, employer blamed a bilingual employee, who had no OSHA recordkeeping experience or training, for not recording the injuries on a log.

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Temporary workers first day on the job.
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Told to clean up an area, alone.
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Previous day a hole was cut in the floor for
HVAC equipment, employee not aware.
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Employee removed the sheet of plywood covering the hole and fell over 27 feet to his death.

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Staffing Agency workers
Other ‘atypical workers’ (for example casual workers and some freelancers) “1099”
Day Laborers
Young workers
Older Workers
Homeworkers
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Unpaid family workers
Recent migrants
More likely to face extreme discrimination, dangerous working conditions and a range of other abuse – including forced labor

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Sounds
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Smells
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Close Calls
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Learning New Tasks
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Needing to be told a number of times
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Overwhelmed

Coach Them
Tell Them
Show Them
Involve Them

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Tell Them…They Listen
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They remember 20%
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Show Them…They Watch
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They understand 35-45%
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Involve Them…They Do
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They absorb 75-80%
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Coach Them…They’ll Never Forget

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Video clip

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Mentoring….maybe not so much…
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Allowing to Mature or gain Experience to become extremely Effective? Not thrown to the wolves.

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Unsafe Workplaces
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Untrained: Not Familiar with Hazards
More Hazardous Tasks (Intrinsically Haz Jobs)
Unaware of Rights
Unaware of How to Address Concerns
Peer Pressure – Poor Examples
Host doesn’t Pay Workers Compensation
Illegal / Unfair Deductions from Paycheck
Limited Leave Benefits
Low Pay
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Insecurity of Work

If you were ONE paycheck from being homeless, what would you put up with?

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Inexperience of a youth, temporary or migrant worker in that trade or occupation
Eagerness to please the supervisors
Assigned work not appropriate for skills or training
Take on unassigned tasks to impress the supervisors
Misunderstanding the job assignment
Lack of supervision
Lack of training
Use dangerous tools or equipment

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OSHA-300 Logs are kept by the Host
Employer
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Staffing Service Pays the Worker
Compensation
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Staffing Services TCR/DART rates low but high Workers Compensation Rates.
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Hard to connect Temporary Employee
Injuries and Illnesses to a “rate” or
“number”

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You have the right to:
◦ A safe and healthful workplace
◦ Know about hazardous chemicals
◦ Information about injuries and illnesses in your workplace
◦ Complain or request hazard correction from employer
◦ Training
◦ Hazard exposure and medical records
◦ File a complaint with OSHA
◦ Participate in an OSHA inspection
◦ Be free from retaliation for exercising safety and health rights
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Host/Client, supervising the temporary worker, has been held responsible for making a temporary employee “whole” if the Host declines having that worker back after a safety complaint.
Staffing Agency can be held responsible if the temporary worker is not found work “because they complain about safety”
Can be a shared responsibility-typically holds the Staffing Agency responsible since the paycheck is from the employer.
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Good Job Description includes:
Example tasks
PPE requirements
Safety requirements (e.g. attend safety orientation)
Exclusions (e.g. no operation of press brake)
Additional hazards (e.g. confined spaces)

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Unsupervised Jobs
Roofing
Trenching
Hazardous waste
Biological waste
Foundry (pours)
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Prohibited jobs can be determined by either the PEO/Staffing Agency or its
Insurance Carrier .

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Safety Training
Safety Reviews
Job Description/Prohibited Jobs
OSHA Establishment Search
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 www.OSHA.gov
Statistics
Inspection Data
Enter Company Name
State

Assessment of client’s WC history
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Description of business operation
List of states (operating)
Copy of 3-yr loss run (minimum)
OSHA reports
Copy of existing safety manual(s)

1.
2.
What safety training did you receive by the host employer prior to starting job?
Are you required to wear any personal protective equipment?
If so, was it provided?

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Are you currently performing the job functions as described to you by our staff?
Do you feel that there are any unsafe aspects or hazards associated with your job? If so, please explain.

To whom do the following OSHA requirements
apply?

Must record the injury or illness BUT the host employer COUNTS the temporary employees’ hours into their total hours worked for that year!

The staffing agency/PEO must ensure that the records of the required medical surveillance or evaluations are maintained in accordance with the appropriate OSHA standards.

What is the general rule for generic training?
The staffing agency/PEOs are expected to provide some generic training.
“Provide appropriate training in a language and vocabulary that workers understand.”

Who is responsible for site specific training?

General
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Who is responsible for PPE?
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Host employer is responsible for providing
PPE for site-specific hazards to which employees may be exposed.
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PPE can be a contractional issue between the host employer and staffing agency/PEO, but enforcement is the responsibility of the host employer .

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Assign a “mentor” to Temp Worker.
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Introduce the Worker and involve them in the work environment. (Not just a warm body)
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Document Training &/or Demonstration of
JSA or Safety Topics.
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Worker has an
“OSHA-10 Card” to accomplish generic training.

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Can’t expect a worker to perform at 100% efficiency on “day one”. “Work Hardening”
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Previous employment may have been sedentary vs. physical activity
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Sitting
Standing
Lifting Heavy Items
Repetitive Lifting
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May not be use to the length of the
– shift particularly if > 8 hours

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If a non-routine project or task requires additional workers or a different skill set, should you take on the responsibility of the task and safety?
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When do you hire a “professional” or contractor that specializes in that work?
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Snow Removal Roofs
Roof Repair
Confined Space
Remodeling

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Temporary and Vulnerable Workers are part of the workforce.
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Employers have the choice on how they treat the workers.
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OSHA expects host employer to treat temporary worker as though the worker was a New Hire i.e. Training.
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Work w/ the Staffing Service to accomplish adequate training.
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Provide Job Descriptions, JSA, and list of
Prohibited Jobs.

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April 29, 2013 Temporary Worker Imitative Announcement http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_docume
nt?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=23994
OSHA Recordkeeping Requirement-Q&A Temp Worker http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_docume
nt?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=12775
Feb. 2, 1994:HazCom, PPE and Medical Monitoring http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_docume
nt?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=21393
April 30, 1996Employer Safety Program & Incentive: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_docume
nt?p_id=22156&p_table=INTERPRETATIONS
November 21, 2012: HazComm & Recordkeeping http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_docume
nt?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=28598

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CPL 02-00-124 - CPL 2-0.124 - Multi-
Employer Citation Policy.
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12-10-99
 http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.
show_document?p_table=DIRECTIVES&p_id=2
024

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Creating
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Who removed the electrical cover?
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Exposing
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Who’s Employees Used the box?
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Correcting
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Who Was to Provide Safe electrical?
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Controlling
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Who Has Oversight/Authority for The Project?