OSHA launches initiative to protect temporary workers

Workers’ Memorial Day remembers those who died on the job

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and
Health Administration today announced an initiative to further protect
temporary employees from workplace hazards. The announcement was made
during a program at the department’s headquarters marking Workers’
Memorial Day – an annual observance to honor workers who have died on
the job and renew a commitment to making work sites across the country
safer.

OSHA today sent a memorandum to the agency’s regional administrators
directing field inspectors to assess whether employers who use temporary
workers are complying with their responsibilities under the Occupational
Safety and Health Act. Inspectors will use a newly created code in their
information system to denote when temporary workers are exposed to
safety and health violations. Additionally, they will assess whether
temporary workers received required training in a language and
vocabulary they could understand. The memo, which can be viewed at  
HYPERLINK "http://s.dol.gov/ZM"  http://s.dol.gov/ZM , underscores the
duty of employers to protect all workers from hazards.

“On Workers’ Memorial Day, we mourn the loss of the thousands of
workers who die each year on the job from preventable hazards,” said
Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety
and health. “Many of those killed and injured are temporary workers
who often perform the most dangerous jobs have limited English
proficiency and are not receiving the training and protective measures
required. Workers must be safe, whether they’ve been on the job for
one day or for 25 years.”

Workers’ Memorial Day is observed nationally on April 28.

In addition, OSHA has begun working with the American Staffing
Association and employers that use staffing agencies, to promote best
practices ensuring that temporary workers are protected from job
hazards.

In recent months, OSHA has received a series of reports about temporary
workers suffering fatal injuries – many during their first days on a
job. OSHA has issued citations when the employer failed to provide
adequate protections, including safety training.

Last week, the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released new
data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries about workers killed
on the job in 2011. Fatal work injuries involving contractors accounted
for 542 – or 12 percent – of the 4,693 fatal work injuries reported.
Hispanic/Latino contractors accounted for 28 percent of fatal work
injuries among contractors, well above their 16 percent share of the
overall fatal work injury total for the year. Additional details are
available at   HYPERLINK
"http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/contractor2011.pdf" 
http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/contractor2011.pdf .

 

U.S. Department of Labor	   For Immediate Release	April 29, 2013

Office of Public Affairs				 Contact:  Jesse Lawder	   Adriano Llosa

Washington, D.C.					 Phone:  202-693-4661	    202-693-4686

Release Number: 13-800-NAT			 Email:   HYPERLINK
"mailto:lawder.jesse@dol.gov"  lawder.jesse@dol.gov       HYPERLINK
"mailto:llosa.adriano.t@dol.gov"  llosa.adriano.t@dol.gov  

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at   HYPERLINK
"http://www.dol.gov"  http://www.dol.gov . The information above is
available in large print, Braille or CD from the COAST office upon
request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.  

 

