Document ID: OSHA-2013-0015-0004
Agency: osha
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2013-06-17T04:00Z

Employee Safety Best Practices and

Operating Information for Industrial Staffing Firms

Table of Contents

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_01"  Executive Summary 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_02"  Introduction 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_03"  Employee Safety Best Practices and Operating
Information for Staffing Firms 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_03"  1. Industrial Staffing Firm General
Operations and Management of Workplace Incidents 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_04"  1.1 Corporate Safety Philosophy 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_05"  1.2 Management of Workplace Incidents 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_06"  1.3 Management of Workplace Injury Claims 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_07"  1.4 Utilization of Contracts That Fairly
Apportion Risk 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_08"  1.5 Proper Classification of Workers 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_09"  1.6 Utilization of Written Job Descriptions
and Scope of Work Documents 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_10"  1.7 Utilization of Risk Management-Based
Sales Processes 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_11"  1.8 Continuous Cooperation and Communication
With Clients 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_12"  2. Industrial Staffing Firm Internal and
Temporary Employees 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_13"  2.1 General Screening of Candidates 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_14"  2.2 Skills and Other Testing of Candidates 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_15"  2.3 General Orientation for New Employees 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_16"  2.4 General Safety Training and Ongoing
Communication 

 HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_17" 3. Selection of, and Ongoing Interaction With,
Clients, Secondary Suppliers, Vendor Management Systems, and Managed
Service Providers 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_18"  3.1 Risk Assessment and Consultation 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_19"  3.2 On-Site Evaluation of the Work Site 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_20"  3.3 Safety Partnership With the Client 

  HYPERLINK  \l "LINK_21"  3.4 Ongoing Communication Between the Parties

Executive Summary

Through the establishment and implementation of employee safety best
practices, industrial staffing firms can improve employee safety and
well-being. Staffing firms and employees can benefit from fewer
workplace hazards and exposures, as well as fewer worker injuries,
illnesses, and fatalities.

Industrial staffing firms have a general duty to take reasonable steps
to determine conditions at the work site, provide employees with generic
safety information, and advise them how to protect themselves from
hazards they are likely to face on the job. These employee safety best
practices will help industrial staffing firms create and sustain healthy
and safe work environments.

Industrial staffing firms should have policies in place that address how
to handle workplace incidents in a prompt, effective, and efficient
manner. Firms should aggressively monitor and manage open claims and
institute measures to minimize future claims.

Industrial staffing firms should actively monitor National Council on
Compensation Insurance workers’ compensation class codes to confirm
their accuracy and avoid excessive premiums. They also should make sure
that if they classify workers as independent contractors, they do so
lawfully under wage and hour, tax, and other laws.

Industrial staffing firms should engage in thorough screening of all
candidates and should apprise candidates of safety policies and
expectations of workers. Firms should consider administering skills and
knowledge assessments. Newly hired employees should undergo general
orientation conducted by the staffing firm. Industrial staffing firms
should regularly provide ongoing training and general safety information
to employees.

Industrial staffing firms should engage in a risk assessment and
analysis to decide whether to do business with potential clients. Their
internal employees should be trained to engage in effective on-site
inspections and evaluations of a potential client’s work site.

Industrial staffing firms should impress upon clients that both the
staffing firm and client are essential to creating a successful
partnership and fostering work site safety and temporary employees’
well-being. All of the parties’ respective responsibilities should be
set forth in the staffing firm’s written agreement with the client.
The staffing firm and client should maintain open and ongoing
communication regarding safety issues.

Introduction

Promoting and ensuring employee safety and well-being is the
responsibility of every industrial staffing firm. Through the
establishment and implementation of employee safety best practices,
industrial staffing firms can foster a workplace culture that increases
employer and worker awareness of, commitment to, and involvement in
employee safety and well-being. Industrial staffing firms and employees
can benefit from fewer workplace hazards and exposures, as well as fewer
worker injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Moreover, worker
satisfaction, productivity, collaboration, recruitment, and retention
all increase dramatically when employers promote and ensure safe and
healthy work environments.

The Employee Safety Best Practices and Operating Information for
Industrial Staffing Firms are designed to assist industrial staffing
firms in doing just that.

Beyond these tangible and well-recognized benefits of employee safety
best practices, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act and state
workplace safety laws require all employers, including industrial
staffing firms, to maintain safe and healthy workplaces for their
employees. Industrial staffing firms have workplace safety obligations
to two sets of employees—their temporary employees assigned to clients
and their internal staff. With respect to temporary employees, the issue
of who is primarily responsible for ensuring their safety at the work
site—the staffing firm or the client—has, at times, generated
confusion.

U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules provide that
clients are primarily responsible for ensuring the safety of staffing
firm temporary employees because the client controls the work site and
also generally controls the work performed by the employees.

Under OSHA rules for recording and reporting occupational injuries and
illnesses, clients also are required to maintain records of illnesses
and injuries of temporary employees if the temporary workers are subject
to the client’s direction and supervision. If they are not, then the
staffing firms must record the illnesses and injuries on their own OSHA
300 logs. The rules’ purpose is to ensure timely and accurate
record-keeping by the employer in the best position to obtain the
information and to assist OSHA in identifying high-hazard employers.
Clients also are required to cover temporary employees under OSHA’s
1986 Hazard Communication Standard, which requires employers to notify
employees of hazardous substances in the workplace.

Industrial staffing firms have a “general duty” to take reasonable
steps to determine conditions at the work site, provide employees with
generic safety information, and advise them how to obtain more specific
information at the work site to protect themselves from hazards they are
likely to face on the job.

Industrial staffing firms can be penalized for failing to inquire about
conditions at the work site. They also can be penalized for failing to
take adequate steps to ensure that their employees are properly informed
of any hazards and how to protect themselves.

Although federal OSHA rules are followed in most states, some states
have their own rules that differ in significant ways.

Therefore, while the following employee safety best practices and
operating information will help industrial staffing firms create and
sustain healthy and safe work environments, they are not intended as
legal advice, and industrial staffing firms should consult with legal
counsel to ensure compliance with all federal and state laws and
regulations.

The Employee Safety Best Practices and Operating Information
specifically pertain to:

Industrial staffing firms’ general operations and management of
workplace incidents

Industrial staffing firms’ internal and temporary employees

Industrial staffing firms’ selection of, and interaction with,
clients, secondary suppliers, vendor management systems (VMSs), and
managed service providers (MSPs)

These best practices have proven to increase productivity and the
quality of the work force, as well as decrease turnover and reduce
insurance costs. Ultimately, these corporate and field-level policies
and procedures can increase profitability.

Employee Safety Best Practices and Operating Information for Staffing
Firms

Industrial Staffing Firm General Operations and Management of Workplace
Incidents

Corporate Safety Philosophy: The staffing firm should, at all times,
maintain a corporate safety philosophy regarding, among other things,
the firm’s commitment to workplace safety; handling workplace
incidents; open communication with employees, clients and other third
parties; and acceptable risks with respect to potential and current
clients and the parameters for assessing new or potential risks. Such
philosophy should be communicated regularly to all employees and
recommunicated as appropriate and any time substantive changes are made
to such philosophy.

Management of Workplace Incidents: The staffing firm should have
policies and procedures in place that are clearly communicated to all
employees and address how to handle workplace incidents in a prompt,
effective, and efficient manner.

The policy should state that all temporary and internal employees shall
be told to whom they should report incidents and the time frame for
doing so, so that the staffing firm can promptly take action to address
any such incident, including facilitating medical care or treatment of
any workplace injury.

The policy should set forth strict timelines for incident investigation,
for which complete information should be sought (from workers, clients,
and third parties), and addressing such incidents.

The policy should clearly identify who within the staffing firm will
direct postaccident or postinjury treatment, including interacting with
designated medical providers and representatives attending any client
facility visit, and communicate with medical personnel.

The policy should set forth protocols for postincident investigations
and specify which of the staffing firm’s employees or agents shall
engage in the investigation (formal accident investigation training is
recommended).

The policy should specify that a staffing firm representative should
expeditiously engage in a post-incident client work site and equipment
inspection, if possible; the policy should further specify that, if
on-site inspection is not possible, photographic or video technology
should be used promptly to capture information regarding the incident
and site. The policy also should address who is responsible for
capturing such information.

The policy should specify the purposes of all incident investigations:
among other things, to determine whether the incident or claim is
legitimate and determine the root cause(s) so as to prevent recurrence.

The policy should specify how and when the staffing firm’s insurance
carrier(s) and any third-party safety or crisis management consultants
should be contacted and utilized.

The policy should address the circumstances under which safety managers
should be designated; such manager could be a staffing firm’s field
office employee, regional or corporate employee, or an on-site employee
placed with the client.

Clients should be presented with, and consent in writing to, policies
and procedures regarding incidents involving temporary employees. These
policies and procedures should address, among other things

Which party is responsible for transporting an injured worker to obtain
care and for undertaking other postincident corrective actions

Who, at the client site, is responsible for notifying the staffing firm
of the incident and the acceptable timeframe for doing so

Contact information for staffing firm personnel who should be informed
of any incident

The sharing of information yielded from post-incident investigations

Identifying corrective actions to prevent future incidents

The client’s responsibility to record assigned temporary employees’
workplace injuries and illnesses on the client’s OSHA 300 log, to the
extent the client directs and supervises their day-to-day work

Management of Workplace Injury Claims: The staffing firm should
aggressively monitor and manage open claims as well as institute
policies and prophylactic measures to minimize future claims. Such
actions or measures should include

Timely reporting of all injuries and claims to the firm’s insurer,
broker, or third-party administrator

Maintaining ongoing communication with both the claimant and insurance
adjuster

Utilizing a national network of health care providers for post-incident
treatment so as to avoid having injured workers using higher-cost
non-occupational health care providers

Putting the claimant back to work, through a mandatory return to work
program, in a timely manner and taking into account any work limitations
(specified by a medical provider) that the claimant may have. The worker
may be placed

With the same or another client in a different work capacity (this
contingency should be addressed in the parties’ contract)

With a third party such as a nonprofit organization

In a different work capacity as part of the staffing firm’s internal
staff

Regardless of the capacity in which the worker is placed, he or she
should render meaningful services and engage in productive work, and
should be required to abide by all applicable staffing firm policies and
procedures; and while the worker should be treated with the same respect
and dignity as if he or she had not suffered the workplace incident, he
or she also should be subject to the firm’s policies regarding
disciplinary action for workplace misconduct or poor performance.

Such return to work program can substantially mitigate workers’
compensation claims and expenses, and the staffing firm should educate
all branch offices and internal employees about the cost savings and
benefits resulting from a strictly enforced return to work program.

Engaging in medical management of claims, through which nurses or other
medical providers actively advise and communicate with the staffing
firm’s internal staff to resolve claims expeditiously

Implementing a claim chargeback system whereby the profit of a staffing
firm branch or business segment is offset by claims filed; such system
provides incentives for internal employees to screen candidates
thoroughly, fully engage in workplace safety practices, and actively
manage claims

Implementing a rating system for postincident investigations undertaken
by field employees, so as to incent and hold them accountable for proper
investigations of, analyses of, and responses to workplace incidents

Utilizing internal claims staff who can work with adjusters and carriers
to manage worker claims

Utilization of Contracts That Fairly Apportion Risk: Contracts proffered
by clients often apportion risk in an unfair manner, with the staffing
firm agreeing to indemnify the client for almost any and all claims
arising from the staffing relationship. Because staffing firms are not
insurers, each party should be responsible for the risks associated with
its own business, and each such party should have a duty to indemnify
the other only for those risks. To help ASA members and their attorneys
address these issues, ASA has developed model contracts that spell out
the staffing firm’s and the client’s respective responsibilities and
apportion risk fairly. The ASA model contracts, which do not constitute
legal advice and should be reviewed and modified by legal counsel, as
appropriate, are available at
americanstaffing.net/legalandgovernment/contracts.cfm.

Proper Classification of Workers: One of the primary components of
pricing workers’ compensation insurance is classifying a risk or
workplace exposure within the proper National Council on Compensation
Insurance workers’ compensation class code. Incorrect risk
classification by insurance agents or underwriters often results in
premium that is too high or, conversely, lower premium that is
reclassified at the time of audit, thus creating a large audit bill.

The staffing firm therefore should actively monitor such NCCI codes to
confirm their accuracy and avoid excessive premiums (note that some
states use their own codes rather than the NCCI codes). The staffing
firm also should monitor (or utilize third parties to monitor) and
assess the accuracy of the staffing firm’s workers’ compensation
modification factor, and work closely with adjusters and carriers with
respect to the administration of claims.

Also, the staffing firm should make sure that, to the extent it
classifies workers as independent contractors, it is doing so lawfully
under wage and hour, tax, and other laws. While there are benefits to
using independent contractors, including not having to provide
workers’ compensation insurance, new laws and increased enforcement of
existing laws are making it more difficult than ever to properly
determine whether workers should be classified as independent
contractors or as employees.

Utilization of Written Job Descriptions and Scope of Work Documents:
Such documents are essential to establishing and clarifying the job
duties, responsibilities, and proper role of temporary employees, and
therefore they will assist in determining the staffing firm or
client’s liability under the parties’ contract; such documents
should be confirmed and agreed upon in writing by clients, and clients
should not be allowed to modify worker duties absent the staffing
firm’s prior consent.

Utilization of Risk Management-Based Sales Processes: By including
safety and risk management analyses of potential and existing clients in
its services, the staffing firm can provide value-added services in
addition to staffing. Moreover, by engaging in a risk and safety
analysis of policies and work sites, the staffing firm can more
accurately account for risk in its pricing, should it decide to do
business with a potential client.

Continuous Cooperation and Communication With Clients: Throughout the
term of the staffing contract, the staffing firm and client should
continuously communicate, preferably in writing but in all cases
expeditiously, regarding temporary workers’ assignments, workplace
incidents, satisfaction, training, responsibilities, safety equipment,
working conditions, and all other relevant issues pertaining to the
workers’ assignments.

2.	Industrial Staffing Firm Internal and Temporary Employees

	

2.1 General Screening of Candidates: The staffing firm should engage in
thorough screening of all candidates, with a particular focus on
licensing, continuing education, and background checks and drug tests,
to the extent necessary or advisable, and the dissemination of safety
information during the application process.

The staffing firm’s Web site, application forms, and employee
handbooks (whether in paper, electronic, or other format) should clearly
set forth all safety policies and worker expectations; the candidate
should be provided with a copy of such policies and expectations during
the interview (which should be in person, whenever possible) and sign an
acknowledgement of receipt and agreement to abide by them.

The staffing firm should advise the candidate that drug screens and
background checks may be required for certain assignments, and should
obtain the candidate’s written consent and waiver for same.

Drug or substance abuse tests and criminal background checks should be
conducted per client requests; as required by applicable law; and in
connection with safety-sensitive positions (e.g., positions with schools
or banks, and positions in which workers come into contact with social
security numbers, trade secrets, or other confidential information)

Criminal background checks should be performed in accordance with the
Fair Credit Reporting Act and any applicable state laws

In cases where a criminal background check will be conducted, the
staffing firm should clearly communicate with the client regarding the
scope of the background check—e.g., whether a state or national check
will be conducted (and, if the former, those states that will be
checked); whether county or municipality records will be checked; and
the time period the background check will cover. The client should
acknowledge and agree in writing to the scope of the criminal background
check. The staffing firm should also review its marketing materials to
make sure not to overstate, or give false impressions with respect to,
the background checks it will conduct.

The staffing firm should comply with all applicable federal and state
laws and regulations (e.g., U.S. Department of Transportation
regulations) that include drug or criminal background screening
requirements.

e.	The staffing firm should verify the candidate’s employment and
education history, confirm that the candidate possesses required
licenses or certifications, check the candidate’s references, and
inquire as to gaps in employment. Licenses should be verified, prior to
assignment and periodically (at least annually) thereafter, with the
relevant state authority so as to ensure that the candidate is and
remains in good standing. The staffing firm also should inform the
candidate that any material omission or falsification on an employment
application is grounds for refusal to hire or termination of employment.

f.	The staffing firm should verify drivers’ licenses, review motor
vehicle records, and comply with DOT requirements for those candidates
who may be driving vehicles on the job.

2.2	Skills and Other Testing of Candidates: The staffing firm should
consider administering the following, in accordance with applicable
disability and other relevant laws as well as client specifications
obtained in writing.

a.	Basic safety knowledge assessments

b.	General and assignment-specific skills and knowledge assessments (for
example, tests pertaining to driving, welding, forklift operation, and
other skills essential to successful performance)

c.	Physicals or medical examinations and physical capability testing of
a general nature or assignment-specific (after an assignment offer is
made, in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act and other
disability laws); assignment-specific testing can pertain to, among
other things, potential or expected environmental or chemical hazards or
conditions at the work site, and can establish a medical baseline that
can later be used to measure the extent of a temporary employee’s
injury or change in physical condition as a result of the assignment
(for example, a blood test can later be used to measure the extent of a
temporary worker’s exposure to radioactive materials; a hearing test
can be used to measure the effects of an assignment on the worker’s
hearing ability; an ergonomic carpal tunnel test can be used to assess
changes to a worker’s ability to engage in repetitive motions).
Assignment-specific testing can also ensure that the workers can fulfill
the physical requirements of the job (i.e., that they are fit for duty).

d.	Drug tests

Drug tests should be conducted per client requests; as required by
applicable law (for example, as mandated by DOT regulations); and in
connection with safety-sensitive positions (for example, press and
elevated work).

The staffing firm should obtain written consent from all applicants.

In addition to preassignment drug tests, the staffing firm should
consider implementing random drug testing and postaccident testing in
accordance with applicable laws.

The staffing firm should maintain a log of drug tests conducted to
insulate itself from liability.

The staffing firm should comply with all applicable privacy laws in
connection with drug testing and handling drug test results.

Integrity testing, which can be used to identify individuals who are
likely to engage in inappropriate, dishonest, unlawful, or antisocial
behavior at work

Such tests can be used to reduce turnover and business costs (for
example, reductions in absenteeism).

Such tests should be considered for all candidates for safety-sensitive
positions or upon client request.

Such tests should be considered for candidates for jobs with high-volume
clients.

2.3	General Orientation for New Employees: Newly hired employees should
undergo general orientation conducted by the staffing firm. Such
orientation should include

Review of the staffing firm’s employee handbook (which should be
updated regularly in accordance with the advice of legal counsel), as
well as the firm’s workplace safety, drug-free workplace, equal
employment opportunity, antiharassment, retaliation, and other policies
and procedures; and review of the staffing firm’s general duty
regarding workplace safety (for temporary employees)

Review of the staffing firm’s mandatory return to work program

Review of any and all processes, policies, risks, business methods and
practices, administrative issues, or other matters that are specific or
unique to the staffing firm’s branch offices or particular lines of
business

Briefing of temporary employees assigned to clients on

General working conditions at the client site and the fact that a major
area of loss is slip and fall injuries; thus the employees should be
particularly cognizant of areas of obstruction

The need for, and types of, personal protective equipment (PPE) for the
assignment and that such equipment will be provided by the client or
staffing firm

To whom the assigned employees will report at the client site

Scheduled hours of work

Job qualifications, including the need for special training or the
ability to work with particular machinery or equipment (e.g., forklifts)

The staffing firm’s policies and protocols for reporting workplace
incidents

Orientation materials, handbooks, safety policies, and other
assignment-specific information provided by the client

The need to refrain from removing any safety devices at the work site or
using any equipment that the worker does not fully understand how to
use, for which the worker has not received safety training, or that is
not part of the worker’s written job description

The existence of a strike or work stoppage at the client site, including
the fact that the worker will not be retaliated against for turning down
the assignment; and any precautionary measures designed to ensure worker
safety during the strike

2.4	General Safety Training and Ongoing Communication: It is critical
that, during the employee’s tenure with the staffing firm, the firm
regularly provide ongoing training and general safety information to the
employee.

Such training and communication should be disseminated through

Electronic newsletters

E-mail

Safety posters at the staffing firm and client sites

Regularly scheduled lunch room or other talks, during which actual work
site incidents are addressed and for which employees are required to
verify their attendance

Internet tutorials and Web-based safety programs

Areas of the staffing firm’s Web site dedicated to workplace safety
issues and information

Paycheck stuffers

Mandatory phone sessions or recordings that focus on workplace safety
and incident prevention

A print or online library of safety and training materials

The staffing firm should share, with assigned temporary workers, the
results of any work site inspections conducted by the staffing firm
(including those conducted prior to the assignment, after a work site
incident or accident, or after a significant change in client staff or
the temporary worker’s duties).

The staffing firm should engage in postincident training so as to review
causes of and responsibility for the incident (client, temporary
employee, staffing firm, or third party), as well as preventative
measures.

The staffing firm should include risk management personnel in internal
staff meetings.

The staffing firm should appoint branch office safety teams to oversee
communications with temporary workers assigned from such branches.

Selection of, and Ongoing Interaction With, Clients, Secondary
Suppliers, Vendor Management Systems, and Managed Service Providers

Risk Assessment and Consultation: Prior to taking on (onboarding) a
client, it is essential for the staffing firm to engage in a risk
assessment and analysis to ascertain the risk of workplace incidents and
ultimately decide whether the firm should do business with the potential
client. To the extent the staffing firm decides to take on the client,
the results of the assessment can and should be shared with the client
as a value added service that can improve work site safety for the
client’s internal staff, as well as assigned temporary employees. Such
assessment should include

A credit check of the potential client

A search of the potential client’s recordable workplace incidents and
safety history. Such information can be obtained from

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data

OSHA (with respect to inspection histories and fines); see
osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.html

A comparison of the potential client’s workplace incident rate to the
rates of peers within client’s industry

A check within the staffing firm’s professional network regarding
others’ experiences with the client

A job hazard analysis of each potential temporary assignment with the
client

A review of information furnished by the potential client, including the
potential client’s safety manuals, policies, and procedures for its
employees; OSHA 300 logs (for purposes of determining, among other
things, the frequency and severity of workplace incidents and whether
incidents involving temporary employees were recorded on the log); and a
client safety practices and procedures form, which should set forth
information regarding the client’s training and safety protocols

On-Site Evaluation of the Work Site: Staffing firm employees (sales
representatives, recruiters, risk managers, etc.) should be trained to
engage in effective on-site inspections and evaluations of the potential
client’s work site. Either a scoring process or qualitative analysis
should be used to evaluate whether to do business with the prospective
client.

For potential clients expected to utilize a high volume of temporary
workers, or for remote placements, the staffing firm should consider
utilizing the resources of its insurance carrier, or those of a
third-party safety consultant, to engage in the on-site evaluation.

The site inspections and evaluations should include

An inspection of equipment to determine its condition and corresponding
safety level (logs and records of equipment maintenance and replacement
should be reviewed; safeguards should be in place)

A review of the client’s training protocols and practices with respect
to its equipment

A review of all relevant written job descriptions

A review of common and parking areas, in addition to the work site

A review of the method(s) the client use(s) to communicate safety issues
to its own employees and the efficacy of same

Ascertaining that clear means of entrance and egress are maintained

A review of the client’s security measures

Ascertaining the extent to which health or safety hazards exist at the
client site, including but not limited to chemical exposure and adverse
ergonomic conditions

Safety Partnership With the Client: The staffing firm should impress
upon the client that both parties, the staffing firm and client, are
essential to creating a successful partnership and fostering work site
safety and temporary employees’ well-being. The client must have a
thorough understanding of, and indicate its written agreement to abide
by, its specific duty under OSHA and state workplace safety laws to
engage in site-specific training for temporary employees and provide
site-specific PPE. To that end, the staffing firm should require the
client to include assigned temporary workers in all orientation, safety,
and training sessions conducted by the client for its internal employees
performing the same job functions.

The staffing firm should insure that the client agrees in writing to
comply, and does in fact comply, with the firm’s illness and injury
prevention program.

The staffing firm should obtain documentation from the client showing
that the client completed site-specific orientation and training (for
example, material safety data sheets) for assigned temporary employees
and provided necessary PPE.

The client should provide a written position description for each
assigned temporary employee.

All of the parties’ respective responsibilities should be set forth in
the staffing firm’s written agreement with the client, which should be
reviewed and thoroughly discussed before execution.

The staffing firm should understand any liabilities it contractually
assumes, and ascertain through its underwriter the extent to which such
liability is covered by the staffing firm’s insurance policy

The indemnity/hold harmless provision should be reviewed by both the
staffing firm’s insurer and its attorney, and subrogation should be
considered in machine, tool, equipment, and training-related workplace
incidents involving assigned temporary workers.

The client should agree to provide PPE and site-specific training for
assigned temporary workers (including but not limited to training about
accident avoidance and reporting, emergency procedures, and ergonomics
and site layout) and also maintain the OSHA 300 log for temporary
workers’ workplace illnesses and injuries to the extent it supervises
and directs such workers.

The parties should indemnify each other only for those duties they are
responsible for under the contract. The staffing firm should refer to
the indemnity provisions of the ASA model agreement for general staffing
arrangements, and review and modify the same upon the advice of the
firm’s legal counsel.

The staffing firm should beware of, understand, and discuss with its
attorney and insurance carrier the ramifications of waivers of
subrogation, alternate employer endorsements, and “additional
insured” clauses in the client contract, all of which can adversely
affect the staffing firm’s ability to recover damages from the client
in the event of an incident.

The parties’ contract should incorporate by reference the staffing
firm’s accident protocols and practices, including timeframes for
reporting workplace incidents, and the client should agree to abide by
same.

The contract should require the client to promptly inform the staffing
firm of any safety violations or incidents at the work site, whether or
not they involve assigned temporary employees.

The contract should address the staffing firm’s right to promptly
engage in postincident on-site investigations.

The staffing firm should create a formal hierarchy for contract
approval, whereby various members of the firm’s staff have an
opportunity to review and sign off on the contract before it is
executed.

Ongoing Communication Between the Parties: During the term of the
contract, the staffing firm and client should maintain open and ongoing
communication regarding safety issues.

The staffing firm should engage in regular performance and safety
evaluations of assigned temporary employees, with input from and
information furnished by the client.

The staffing firm should engage in periodic (quarterly or more frequent)
follow-up safety visits to, and inspections of, the client work site.

The staffing firm and client should promptly counsel assigned temporary
employees in connection with any accidents or near misses so as to
prevent same in the future.

The staffing firm should, wherever feasible, participate in the
client’s safety committees so as to have meaningful input into the
safety of assigned temporary workers.

The staffing firm should consider providing safety incentives to clients
for conducting business without incident for certain periods of time.

Both the client and assigned temporary workers should affirm, in
writing, any time training is conducted by the client, and such training
should be regularly updated as a result of, among other things, changes
in equipment, job duties, supervisors, or other changed terms and
conditions of the temporary worker’s assignment.

The information in this document should not be relied on as, and is not
intended to be, legal advice. Staffing firms requiring legal or other
advice regarding the matters discussed herein should consult with
experienced legal counsel.

 The ASA employee safety best practices and operating information for
industrial staffing firms do not address employee safety practices in
the direct hire context since the job candidate is not hired or employed
by the staffing firm; instead, employee safety is the responsibility of
the client that hires the candidate. Nevertheless, staffing firms
engaging in direct hire placements should undertake background checks
upon client request, and the scope of such checks should be clearly set
forth by the client in writing; if no such request is made, this fact
should be reflected in writing also.

 For purposes of these best practices, references to “client” should
be construed to also refer to VMSs, MSPs, and secondary suppliers.

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