Tracking workers compensation insurance claims and other statistics related to employee injuries and illnesses is a crucially important task for all employers across the U.S. However, there is little formal guidance clarifying the different reporting requirements as between temporary workers and permanent ones, which has complicated record keeping for some time.
A new educational bulletin from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration addresses which employers are responsible for reporting workplace injuries and illnesses. In the past, a lack of proper injury tracking measures led to confusion about who was responsible for work-related injury costs and workers compensation insurance payments.
OSHA hopes to clarify how the law affects temp workers
Above all else, the new bulletin aims to protect temporary workers while on the job. This educational resource will shed light on reporting procedures for workplace injuries. In addition, it should help increase awareness about training temporary workers in the same fashion as existing employees.
"The Recordkeeping Bulletin is the first of many materials we are releasing and helps clarify which employers are responsible for reporting injuries and illnesses," said David Michaels, OSHA's assistant secretary of labor. "These materials will provide valuable information for both host employers and staffing agencies on how they can work together to make sure their workers are properly trained and protected."
The American Staffing Association also expressed support and appreciation for OSHA's bulletin.
"I think there is a lot of education to be done," Stephen Dwyer, general counsel the American Staffing Association, told the media outlet, in regard to temporary workers. "I think there is still a lot of enforcement to be done by OSHA. If they are getting killed and they are getting injured, it's not only a tragedy, it's crippling for our industry."
Overall, employers should make sure to be aware of their reporting requirements for both full-time and temporary employees. Proper training and safety procedures could help cut costs and reduce the amount of workers compensation insurance expenses.
