Temporary Worker Initiative

Warehousing Industry Employment

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

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

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

requirements when temporary workers are jointly employed by a staffing 

agency and a host employer.

Introduction

The U.S. warehousing market experienced 

tremendous growth in recent years, driven 

largely by e-commerce. The rise in demand 

for consumable goods creates employment 

opportunities for many workers, including 

temporary workers. However, depending on 

many factors, warehouses can be worksites with 

significant hazards. 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. Generally, when a staffing 

agency supplies temporary workers to a business, 

the staffing agency and the staffing agency’s client 

(the host employer) are considered joint employers 

of those temporary workers. As joint employers, 

both the staffing agency and the host employer are 

responsible for assessing the temporary workers’ 

working conditions and complying with the law. 

In these joint employment situations, there are 

common questions regarding how each employer 

can fulfill its duty to comply with the OSH Act and 

other applicable standards. This bulletin addresses 

what the staffing agency and the host employer 

can do to ensure that temporary workers in the 

warehousing and storage industry stay safe.

Hazards at Warehouses

Warehouses are large, dynamic work environments 

that require the safe coordination of a wide variety 

of worksite activities. Depending on the products 

within each warehouse, the use of forklifts and 

other moving vehicles may be required, which can 

create struck-by, caught-in-between, and other 

physical hazards for operators and pedestrians 

working around the equipment, as well as potential 

exposure to exhaust gases. Other common 

equipment includes conveyors, sorters, labelers, 

and automated pallet wrappers, etc., which may 

result in worker exposures to unguarded machinery 

or uncontrolled releases of hazardous energy.

Warehouses may also store chemicals and contain 

many different types of electrical equipment 

and systems. Improperly stored chemicals and 

spills may expose employees to a wide range of 

health hazards (such as irritation, sensitization, 

and carcinogenicity) and physical hazards (such 

as flammability, corrosion, and explosibility). 

Employees working with electrical equipment may 

be exposed to dangers such as electric shock, 

electrocution, fires, and explosions. Temperature 

extremes may also be a concern. Heat-related 

illness can affect warehousing workers performing 

physical work in high heat conditions. Conversely, 

workers in refrigerated warehouses may be 

exposed to cold stress hazards.

Warehousing industry workers often handle heavy 

and/or bulky items and this can lead to ergonomic 

risk factors, such as repeatedly lifting and lowering 

heavy items, bending, reaching overhead, pushing 

TWI BULLETIN NO. 14
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and pulling heavy loads, working in awkward body 

postures, and performing the same or similar 

tasks repetitively. These ergonomic stressors put 

workers at risk of musculoskeletal disorders, such 

as low back injuries.

Goods are often stored vertically and can fall from 

varying heights so safe storage and handling of 

materials is critical. Slips, trips, and falls can be 

a common cause for accidents as warehouses 

may have poorly lit areas, litter on floors such as 

packaging and other items, and the environment is 

ever-changing. Additionally, exit routes must not 

be blocked by obstacles or stored materials, and 

exit doors should never be locked.

Employer Responsibilities

All employers covered under the OSH Act must 

ensure that their workers are provided a safe and 

healthy workplace and protected from recognized 

hazards such as those listed above.

The staffing agency and the host employer share 

the responsibility for training temporary workers. 

Training should be completed before the worker 

begins work and it must be in a language and 

vocabulary the worker understands. Training 

requirements vary depending on potential 

hazards, location of the worksite, and assigned 

duties. As a recommended practice, the staffing 

agency and host employer should discuss 

responsibility for each aspect of training.

The specific type of training to be provided should 

be done in a language and level of understanding 

appropriate for the workforce, which should be 

clearly stated in the contract between the host 

employer and the staffing agency. Under most 

circumstances, host employers are in the best 

position to determine and provide worksitespecific training that covers hazards and control 

methods present at their establishment. While 

employers cannot discharge or subcontract their 

legal responsibilities to another party, the host 

employer may specify the qualifications required 

for temporary workers in its contract with the 

staffing agency; however, the host employer is 

responsible for providing any training required 

by an OSHA standard that relates to the specific 

hazards found in the host employer’s workplace. 

In summary, neither employer may avoid their 

responsibilities under the OSH Act by requiring 

another party to perform them.

In most cases, the host employer, because it is in 

the best position to select and give any training 

required of their operations, is responsible for 

site-specific training, while the staffing agency 

is responsible for general safety and health 

training. However, it is the responsibility of both 

the staffing agency and the host employer to be 

familiar with applicable OSHA standards, comply 

with all training requirements, and delineate in 

their contract their respective responsibilities. 

The goal is to ensure that workers know how to 

do their work safely, can identify hazards, and 

understand control and protective measures.

Because warehouse workers face many hazards, 

providing proper communication, appropriately 

designing the facility and equipment layout, 

properly storing materials, and training are critical 

to keeping them safe. It is recommended that 

both the staffing agency and the host employer 

develop written illness and injury prevention 

programs outlining how each employer protect 

their workers. When feasible, the host employer 

and staffing agency should exchange and review 

each other’s programs.

Host Employer Responsibilities

The host employer is usually in the best position 

to ensure compliance with OSHA requirements 

at the worksite and provide site-specific training 

because it generally controls the means, methods, 

and processes by which the work is accomplished, 

and so is familiar with the associated hazards. 

Therefore, the host employer is responsible for 

site-specific protections, policies, and procedures, 

including training. Also, while the host employer 

may take the lead on performing the worksite 

hazard assessment (or job hazard analysis), it 

should share the results with the staffing agency 

and should also allow the staffing agency to 

conduct its own assessment. The host employer 

should provide the staffing agency with all 

information regarding the requirements for 

assigned tasks. The host employer should also 

partner with and allow access to the staffing 

agency when investigations are conducted.
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Staffing Agency Responsibilities

The staffing agency has a duty to inquire into the 

conditions of their workers’ assigned workplaces 

and verify that the host employer has fulfilled its 

responsibilities for a safe workplace. The staffing 

agency is typically responsible for providing 

general safety and health training so that its 

employees have the ability to identify hazardous 

situations, report hazards, injuries and illnesses, 

and understand their rights if confronted with a 

hazardous situation at a warehouse worksite. The 

staffing agency is also responsible for ensuring that 

employees receive site-specific training, although 

the host may provide such on-site training. To 

fulfill this obligation, the staffing agency must 

inquire and verify that the host employer’s training 

adequately addresses the potential hazards to 

which employees will be exposed at the host 

employer’s worksite. If the staffing agency has 

reason to believe the site-specific training is not 

adequate, the agency should inform the host 

employer and work with the employer to provide 

adequate training. The staffing agency may elect 

to remove their workers from the host employer’s 

worksite if identified hazards are not corrected.

Even where a staffing agency has a representative 

at the host employer’s worksite, the presence 

of that representative does not transfer 

responsibilities for site-specific training to the 

staffing agency. The staffing agency should 

conduct a walkthrough of the warehouse worksite 

to identify tasks that temporary employees will 

perform, and any hazards related to those tasks. 

However, the employer responsible for the sitespecific training (determined by supervision and 

control over the workers and hazards – typically 

the host employer) should still ensure that workers 

complete the training and that the training is 

adequate before work begins. Where the staffing 

agency has an on-site representative, the staffing 

agencies must evaluate the host employer’s 

worksite, ensure they understand medical 

screening and surveillance requirements instituted 

by the host employer, if appropriate, and conduct 

post-incident and illness investigations.

The staffing agency should maintain effective 

communication with its workers and the host 

employer. Such ongoing communication also alerts 

the staffing agency to additional or newly created 

workplace hazards that may need to be addressed.

Joint Responsibilities

The staffing agency and the host employer 

should jointly assess all worksites for potential 

hazards to which the temporary worker might 

foreseeably be exposed during assigned work. 

These assessments (or job hazard analyses) will 

provide for the identification and elimination 

of potential safety and health hazards through 

training, work practices, and necessary protective 

equipment for each worker. Staffing agencies need 

not become experts on specific workplace hazards, 

but should determine what conditions exist at the 

worksite, what hazards may be encountered, and 

how to best ensure protection for the temporary 

workers. For example, see TWI Bulletin #5 – Hazard 

Communication for additional information for when 

workers may handle hazardous chemicals in the 

warehouse. (29 CFR 1910.1200)

Employers must provide and ensure the proper use 

and maintenance of personal protective equipment 

(PPE) when it is required by OSHA standards or by 

the employer. The host employer will usually have 

the primary responsibility for selecting, providing, 

and ensuring the use of adequate PPE for each 

process or operation workers are assigned. For 

example, see TWI Bulletin #2 – Personal Protective 

Equipment for additional information on the types 

of PPE that may be needed like head, foot, or hand 

protection. (29 CFR 1910.132)

The host employer is usually best situated to 

perform the hazard assessment required for 

determining if PPE is necessary and will likely have 

already done so for its permanent staff (29 CFR 

1910.132(d)). See also, TWI Bulletin #7 – Powered 

Industrial Truck Training and TWI Bulletin #10 – The 

Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout).
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Example Scenario*

Fulfillment Plus owns a 200,000 square foot fulfillment warehouse that employs more than 1,500 

workers. In the warehouse, workers pick, pack, and ship customer orders such as books, toys, 

housewares and more. In a tight labor market, Fulfillment Plus has difficulty attracting and retaining 

qualified hourly workers so it reaches out to W.W. Staffing, a local staffing agency with a good 

reputation for sourcing qualified temporary workers. After entering into a written contract, W.W. 

Staffing supplies 50 temporary workers to the Fulfillment Plus warehouse. The temporary workers 

perform a variety of work tasks, including working on a conveyer belt assembly line and with a 

baler machine, picking and packing shipments, and breaking down cardboard boxes. For some of 

the temporary workers, Spanish is their primary language. Prior to their first day at Fulfillment Plus, 

W.W. Staffing provided the temporary workers with information about their various jobs and gave 

them general safety training, but only in English, not Spanish. Prior to starting their assignments, 

Fulfillment Plus provided the temporary workers with general safety guidelines, in both English and 

Spanish, and personal protective equipment requirements and materials.

On the third day of work, a W.W. Staffing employee who speaks Spanish only notices that her 

job duties were relocated to a new area of the warehouse and she’s now working close to heavy 

machinery, specifically forklifts, conveyors, and sorters. Late that afternoon, she is feeling physically 

tired and she steps away from her sorting area when she is struck by a forklift that was driving too 

fast in a narrow aisle. Not wanting to make a bad impression so soon into her new assignment and 

not knowing who specifically to raise her concerns with or how to report that she was struck by a 

forklift, she decides not to say anything about the new job conditions to her W.W. Staffing manager 

or Fulfillment Plus on-site supervisor.

Analysis

As the host employer, Fulfillment Plus was responsible for providing site-specific training, but did not 

do so. Fulfillment Plus supervises and controls the day-to-day work of the temporary employees at its 

warehouse. It is in the best position to provide the site-specific training and procedures applicable to 

its workplace. For failing to provide appropriate site-specific hazard information and training including 

how to report an incident, Fulfillment Plus may be subject to OSHA citations. Depending on the 

circumstances, Fulfillment Plus may also face citations for failure to adequately train the forklift driver 

and enforce site-specific safety rules related to speed limits and pedestrian traffic, ensure wide aisle 

space, installing protection devices such as rack rails, and reporting and recording injuries.

The staffing agency fulfilled some of its OSHA responsibilities by providing the general safety training 

but did not present information in a manner that some of the employees receiving it were capable of 

understanding, namely in Spanish. Since the staffing agency knew the workers would be working in 

a warehouse with potential hazards, it should have inquired about what training the host employer 

had in place to ensure that W.W. Staffing’s temporary workers were adequately protected. Staffing 

agencies are obligated to provide their workers with training on general safety and health topics and 

verify that they understand the elements included in the training. Additionally, staffing agencies must 

inform workers that they have the right to refuse to do work they reasonably believe to be dangerous or 

if they have not been adequately trained, and to contact the staffing agency immediately in the event 

of a safety incident or if working conditions or assignments change. W.W. Staffing may, therefore, be 

subject to OSHA citations for not meeting its obligations as an employer.

*Note: The company names in this scenario are fictitious. Any resemblance to real company’s name is entirely coincidental.
Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act requires employers 

to provide a safe and healthful workplace for 

all workers. When investigations reveal that a 

temporary worker is exposed to a recognized 

hazard, and the worker is employed by both 

a staffing agency and a host employer, OSHA 

will consider issuing citations to either or both 

employers, depending on the specific facts of the 

case. OSHA will assess whether both employers 

have fulfilled their respective compliance 

responsibilities in each individual case.

State Plans

Twenty-nine states and U.S. territories operate 

their own OSHA-approved occupational safety 

and health programs, called State Plans. 

These State Plans have and enforce their own 

occupational safety and health standards that 

must 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/stateplans.

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 

OSHA’s main web page at 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 www.osha.gov/workers.

For information on Temporary Workers visit 

OSHA’s Temporary Workers’ page www.osha.gov/

temporaryworkers.

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, please visit www.whistleblowers.gov.

OSHA also provides help to employers. OSHA’s 

On-Site Consultation Program offers free and 

confidential advice 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 management 

systems. To locate the OSHA On-Site Consultation 

Program nearest you, call 1-800-321-6742 (OSHA) 

or visit www.osha.gov/consultation.

OSHA 4384-10 2023

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.