Temporary Worker Initiative

The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)

This is part of a series of guidance documents developed under the 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) Temporary Worker 

Initiative (TWI). This Initiative focuses on compliance with safety and health 

requirements when temporary workers are employed under the joint 

employment of a staffing agency and a host employer.

Temporary workers are entitled to the same 

protections under the Occupational Safety and 

Health Act of 1970 (the OSH Act) as all other 

covered workers. When a staffing agency supplies 

temporary workers to a business, typically, the 

staffing agency and the staffing agency’s client, 

commonly referred to as the host employer, are 

joint employers of those workers. Both employers 

are responsible for determining the conditions 

of employment and complying with the law. In 

these joint employment situations, questions 

regarding how each employer can fulfill their 

duty to comply with the standard are common. 

This bulletin addresses what both the staffing 

agency and the host employer can do to ensure 

that temporary workers are protected from the 

sudden release of stored energy from machines 

or equipment in accordance with OSHA standard 

29 CFR 1910.147 — The Control of Hazardous 

Energy (lockout/tagout) (the standard). (See also 

29 CFR 1910.333 for general industry; 29 CFR 

1926.64, 29 CFR 1926.417, and 29 CFR 1926.702

for construction industry; and 29 CFR 1915.89 for 

maritime industry). 

General Responsibilities

The lockout/tagout standard addresses the 

practices and procedures necessary to prevent the 

sudden release of hazardous energy while workers 

perform servicing or maintenance activities. The 

standard lists measures for controlling various 

types of energy, including electrical, mechanical, 

hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, and other 

energy sources that could be hazardous if not 

controlled. These measures require that employers: 

• Develop, implement, and enforce an energy 

control (lockout) program with written procedures 

that include steps for shutting down, isolating, 

blocking, and securing machines or equipment;

• Use lockout procedures whenever equipment is 

capable of being locked out; 

• Ensure that equipment, newly installed or 

renovated after January 2, 1990, is designed to 

accept a lockout device;

• Develop, implement, and enforce a tagout 

program if machines or equipment are not 

capable of being locked out;

• Use only lockout/tagout devices authorized for 

the particular equipment or machinery that are 

durable, standardized, and substantial; 

• Ensure that lockout/tagout devices identify 

each user; 

• Establish and enforce a work rule that permits 

only the employee who applied a lockout/tagout 

device to remove it;

• Inspect energy control procedures at least 

annually and implement revisions if there have 

been changes in equipment or processes; 

• Provide site-specific lockout/tagout training to 

employees; and

TWI BULLETIN NO. 10
2

• Develop, implement, and enforce additional 

energy control procedures when machines 

or equipment must be tested or repositioned, 

when outside contractors work at the site, in 

group lockout situations, and during shift or 

personnel changes. 

As joint employers, both the host employer and 

the staffing agency are responsible for ensuring 

that the temporary employee is properly protected 

against the sudden release of stored energy. Prior 

to beginning work, the host employer and staffing 

agency should jointly review the task assignments 

and job hazards to identify, eliminate, and control 

hazardous energy releases, and determine the 

coverage of temporary workers by a lockout/

tagout program. The employers may decide that 

a division of the compliance responsibility may 

be appropriate. The details of the protections and 

training to be provided can be clearly established 

in the contract language between the employers. 

While the employers may agree to divide 

responsibilities, neither employer may avoid its 

ultimate responsibilities under the OSH Act by 

shifting responsibilities to the other employer.

Host Employer Responsibilities

OSHA expects that the host employer, who is 

usually in the best position to ensure compliance 

at its worksite, will protect temporary workers by 

taking all necessary steps to ensure compliance 

with the provisions of the standard. The host 

employer is and should be familiar with the 

machines and equipment at its worksite, the 

temporary workers’ activities with and around 

the machines and equipment, and the hazards to 

which the temporary workers can be exposed. In 

most cases, the host employer has the capability 

and responsibility to develop and implement a 

site-specific lockout/tagout program and provide 

appropriate training. Therefore, the host employer 

is responsible for ensuring that if a temporary 

worker is performing activities covered by the 

standard, the worker is properly trained and 

understands the lockout/tagout policies and 

procedures. The host employer is also responsible 

for fully informing the staffing agency of any 

expectation that the staffing agency has provided 

the temporary workers with training regarding 

both exposure to uncontrolled energy and lockout/

tagout policies and procedures. The host employer 

must provide the same protections and hazardous 

energy control procedures to its temporary workers 

as it provides to permanent workers exposed to the 

same hazards. 

If a temporary worker is not performing servicing 

or maintenance, but his or her work operations 

are or may be in an area where lockout/tagout 

procedures may be utilized, then he or she is 

considered an affected employee.

1

 If a temporary 

worker is performing servicing or maintenance 

of machinery, then he or she is considered an 

authorized employee.

2 The appropriate training 

requirements found at 29 CFR 1910.147(c)(7) apply 

to both scenarios, and the host employer must 

ensure that such employees receive this training. 

Staffing Agency Responsibilities

OSHA expects that the staffing agency, as a joint 

employer, will take all necessary steps to ensure that 

temporary workers are protected from the hazards 

of uncontrolled energy while working around 

machinery and equipment. While the host employer 

is usually in the best position to implement 

compliance with the standard at its worksite, the 

staffing agency must fulfill its duty to inquire 

about both the hazards to which its employees 

are exposed and the protective measures that the 

host employer has implemented. Communication 

between the staffing agency and the host employer 

is necessary. The staffing agency should have a 

clear understanding of the type of hazard training 

needed by a temporary worker, who is performing 

activities covered by the lockout/tagout standard. 

The staffing agency may provide generic lockout/

tagout information and training that includes general 

hazards associated with the release of hazardous 

energy and how to identify hazardous situations. 

1. 29 CFR 1910.147(b) defines “affected employee” as “[a]n 

employee whose job requires him/her to operate or use a 

machine or equipment on which servicing or maintenance 

is being performed under lockout or tagout, or whose job 

requires him/her to work in an area in which such servicing or 

maintenance is being performed.”

2. 29 CFR 1910.147(b) defines an “authorized employee” as “[a] 

person who locks out or tags out machines or equipment in 

order to perform servicing or maintenance on that machine 

or equipment. An affected employee becomes an authorized 

employee when that employee’s duties include performing 

servicing or maintenance covered under this section.” 
3

Example Scenario*

A metal equipment manufacturer, Iron Alloys Co. (IAC), needs machine operators for a short-term 

increase in production. The company contracts with a staffing agency, Temp Staffing, to provide 

workers for shifts on a temporary basis. Temp Staffing hires ten operators and sends them to work 

onsite at IAC. Before sending the workers to the worksite, the staffing agency plays a generic safety 

training video for them and instructs the team leader to answer any questions.

At the worksite, a supervisor from IAC assigns each of the temporary workers to a particular work 

area. On the assumption that the workers have experience working with machinery, IAC provides 

only minimal instruction. The host employer then sends the workers directly to their assigned tasks, 

checking on their work throughout the shift. 

IAC’s workplace has numerous pieces of running machinery. Although Temp Staffing’s contract with 

IAC mentions compliance with safety and health requirements, it does not address a lockout/tagout 

program. IAC does not mention any need for hazardous energy control procedures to Temp Staffing 

or the temporary workers, and does not provide them with site-specific lockout/tagout training. 

One of the temporary workers tells a supervisor at Temp Staffing that IAC did not train the workers 

on shutting down the machines to clean them. A week later, one of the temporary workers cleans a 

machine without locking it out and suffers a finger amputation. 

ANALYSIS

IAC and Temp Staffing are jointly responsible to determine that temporary workers would be 

exposed to a hazard when cleaning machinery and require energy control procedures and means 

of locking and tagging equipment to control the hazard of unexpected energization. Both employers 

are also jointly responsible for ensuring that site-specific training is provided. However, IAC 

controlled the workers’ activities with and around the machinery at its facility, so it was in the best 

position to provide the site-specific lockout/tagout training. Therefore, IAC may be subject to OSHA 

citations for its failure to provide appropriate, site-specific lockout/tagout procedures and training.

However, the staffing agency must also ensure 

that the host employer: has a site-specific lockout/

tagout program that protects the temporary workers 

against the potential of a hazardous energy release 

at its worksite; provides site-specific training to 

workers; and confirm that the staffing agency is 

aware of any changes in the workplace hazards. 

Similarly, the staffing agency should communicate 

with the temporary workers to ensure that the 

workers understand the lockout/tagout policies 

and procedures. 

As described above, if a temporary worker is 

not performing servicing or maintenance, but 

his or her work operations are or may be in an 

area where lockout/tagout procedures may be 

utilized, then he or she is considered an affected 

employee. If a temporary worker is performing 

servicing or maintenance of machinery, then he 

or she is considered an authorized employee.

The appropriate training requirements found at 

29 CFR 1910.147(c)(7) apply to both scenarios, 

and the staffing agency must ensure that such 

employees receive this training. 

State Plans

Twenty-eight states and U.S. territories have 

their own OSHA-approved occupational safety 

and health programs called State Plans. State 

Plans have and enforce their own occupational 

safety and health standards that are required to 

be at least as effective as OSHA’s, but may have 

different or additional requirements. A list of the 

State Plans and more information are available at: 

www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp. 
How Can OSHA Help?

Workers have a right to a safe workplace. If you 

think your job is unsafe or you have questions, 

contact OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) or visit 

www.osha.gov. It’s confidential. We can help. For 

other valuable worker protection information, such 

as Workers’ Rights, Employer Responsibilities and 

other services OSHA offers, visit OSHA’s Workers’ 

page at www.osha.gov/workers.

For more information on Temporary Workers, visit 

OSHA’s Temporary Workers’ page at www.osha.

gov/temp_workers.

The OSH Act prohibits employers from retaliating 

against their employees for exercising their rights 

under the OSH Act. These rights include raising a 

workplace health and safety concern with either 

employer, reporting an injury or illness, filing an 

OSHA complaint, and participating in an inspection 

or talking to an inspector. If workers have been 

retaliated or discriminated against for exercising 

their rights, they must file a complaint with OSHA 

within 30 days of the alleged adverse action to 

preserve their rights under Section 11(c). For more 

information, visit www.whistleblowers.gov.

OSHA also provides help to employers. OSHA’s 

On-Site Consultation Program offers free and 

confidential occupational safety and health 

services to small and medium-sized businesses in 

all states and several territories, with priority given 

to high-hazard worksites. On-Site Consultation 

services are separate from enforcement and do 

not result in penalties or citations. Consultants 

from state agencies or universities work with 

employers to identify workplace hazards, provide 

advice on compliance with OSHA standards, and 

assist in establishing and improving safety and 

health programs. To locate the OSHA On-Site 

Consultation Program nearest you, call 1-800-321-

6742 (OSHA) or visit www.osha.gov/consultation.

Although Temp Staffing played a generic safety training video, with the team leader available for 

questions, the training may have been inadequate. Staffing agencies are obligated to provide their 

employees with training that covers generic safety and health topics and to verify that employees 

have understood the elements included in the training. Temp Staffing may be subject to an OSHA 

citation for failing to ensure that its employees received lockout/tagout training. Temp Staffing also 

had a responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure that the host employer provided site-specific 

training. The staffing agency failed to fulfill this responsibility when it took no measures after being 

notified that IAC had not trained the employees on shutting down the machines to clean them. 

Examples of measures that Temp Staffing could have taken include reminding IAC of its obligations 

to provide training, following up to ensure correction by requesting documented training records 

from IAC, removing the workers from the facility, or providing the training itself in coordination with 

IAC. Temp Staffing may also be subject to OSHA citations for its failure to ensure that appropriate, 

site-specific lockout/tagout procedures and training was provided. 

* The company names used in this scenario are fictitious. Any resemblance to real companies is entirely coincidental.

Disclaimer: This bulletin is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations. It contains 

recommendations as well as descriptions of mandatory safety and health standards. The recommendations are 

advisory in nature, informational in content, and are intended to assist employers in providing a safe and healthful 

workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to comply with safety and health standards 

and regulations promulgated by OSHA or by a state with an OSHA-approved state plan. In addition, the OSH Act’s 

General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1), requires employers to provide their employees with a workplace free from 

recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

OSHA 3964-11 2018