Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance of Temporary Help Supply Workers in Washington State

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bonauto, David ; Foley M ; Martin E ; Rauser E
• Description:
  Background: Previous research on the impact of temporary on the risk of worker injury has focused on discrepancies in health outcomes rather than on the causes of the differential. We use the workers' compensation database in Washington State and matched injured worker surveys to conduct occupational health and safety surveillance of the temporary help supply (THS) industry. Methods: Workers' compensation measures for temporary workers are compared to those of permanent employees working in comparable occupations. We also explore differences between temporary and permanent workers in job experience, specific tasks performed, hazards faced, safety training and equipment, and differences in age and tenure through telephone interviews with recently injured temporary and permanent workers, matched by workplace and demographic characteristics. Interviews also covered ways to reduce injuries to workers and suggestions for how best to deliver educational material. Results: Workers who are employed by temporary agencies have a higher claims rate and more lost workdays per 100 FTEs than do their permanently employed counterparts, controlling for industry. Surveys show that temporary workers were less likely to have been asked about their expertise before the assignment. They rated the quality of safety training received from the client employer to be less adequate than that reported by their permanent counterparts. Discrepancies suggestive of higher risk for temporary workers were found as well for frequency of training, adequacy of supervision and whether they could refuse tasks they deemed to be unsafe. We found mixed evidence of discrepancy in level of hazard exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Occupational Health And Safety Data Collection Injuries Lost Work Days Occupational Safety And Health Risk Factors Safety Education Surveillance Temporary Workers Training Worker Safety Workers Compensation

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• Publisher:
  American Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061056
• Citation:
  APHA 142nd Annual Meeting and Exposition, November 15-19, 2014, New Orleans, Louisiana. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 2014 Nov; :302451
• Contact Point Address:
  Michael Foley, MA, Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP), Washington State Dept Labor and Industries, Olympia, WA
• Email:
  folm235@lni.wa.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  APHA 142nd Annual Meeting and Exposition, November 15-19, 2014, New Orleans, Louisiana
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:36a8be86700ea64b0ae5f0618cb868c513ca1c1de30faccf5c92a5e8b3a03233a180a884a0a5289fbeac87edf4d3ac5f2141e02a638857bbe3ea7e3ac941f7de
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224734/cdc_224734_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 283.94 KB ]