Hiring temporary workers can be a way for businesses to meet fluctuating labor demands. But, keeping temporary workers safe on the job presents unique challenges, in part due to their dual employment arrangement in which they are paid by a staffing company and assigned to work for a host employer company. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), host employers and staffing companies are jointly responsible for protecting the safety and health of temporary workers. However, there is often ..read more

There are an estimated 1.4 million temporary help agency workers in the US.[i] However, to date, there has been limited research comparing injury rates of temporary and permanent workers. NIOSH recently published “Comparative analyses of workers’ compensation claims of injury among temporary and permanent employed workers in Ohio” in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. The study analyzed over 1.3 million workers’ compensation (WC) claims in Ohio from 2001-2013 (including 45,046 claims from workers employed by temporary service agencies) to compare the injury risk of temporary and perm ..read more

Who is looking out for workers in nonstandard work arrangements? As the prevalence of nonstandard work arrangements (such as temporary agency, contract, and “gig” arrangements) rises, so do concerns about workplace safety and health among this workforce. A recent article, “Nonstandard work arrangements and worker health and safety” published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine describes the major standard and nonstandard work arrangements and the potential managerial, legal, and health and safety challenges associated with nonstandard arrangements. Key points are highlighted below ..read more

  Creating a culture of safety isn’t just meant for full-time employees of an organization. It requires the involvement all workers whether full-time, temporary or contract and the diligence of the companies or organizations where their work occurs. Contractor safety management is extremely relevant in our increasingly global and complex world that involves work in multiple countries, non-routine work and the use of international and temporary workforces. The Campbell Institute, the center of excellence for environmental health and safety at the National Safety Council, has released a new ..read more

  Labor Day is a time to reflect upon and honor the contribution by American workers to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. First celebrated in New York City in 1882, Labor Day became an official federal holiday in 1894. While the character of the celebrations has changed over time, Labor Day today remains a yearly national tribute to the workers of our country. The nature of how we work has changed drastically since we marked that first Labor Day. While the movement away from traditional industries such as farming and manufacturing has been well noted, we also ..read more

A Joint Session of the NORA Manufacturing Sector and Services Sector Councils Factors such as fluctuations in the economy, changing social habits and access to technology have boosted a rapid growth in temporary work arrangements [Luo,T]. Under many names–temporary workers, contingent workers, contract workers, long-term temps, workers in dual employer situations, on-demand freelance–these workers seem to be ubiquitous in most industrial sectors. These arrangements are impacting work organization, career paths, and health and safety. According to various reports, there were an estimated 17 mil ..read more

You may have some hypotheses about how work affects the health of the U.S. population, but collecting data from a nationally representative sample is expensive and time-consuming. What if there was free data available at your fingertips? You’re in luck! NIOSH sponsored an Occupational Health Supplement (OHS) to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and the data is publicly available. See the NIOSH Topic Page for more information. Over 17 thousand current and recent U.S. workers supplied information on their industry, occupation, and the workplace health conditions and exposures lis ..read more