OSHA Announces Initiative to Increase Workplace Safety

DOL/OSHA Launches Initiative to Protect Temporary Workers OSHA has announced an initiative to further protect temporary employees from workplace hazards. A memorandum sent to the agency's regional administrators directs field inspectors to assess whether employers who use temporary workers are complying with their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Inspectors will denote when temporary workers are exposed to safety and health violations and assess whether temporary workers received required training in a language and vocabulary they could understand. The memo and press release, which can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=23994, underscores the duty of employers to protect all workers from hazards. 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.