NIOSH Best Practices To Help Host Employers Protect Temporary Workers

Seyfarth Synopsis: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has released a new set of best practices to assist host employers in better protecting the safety and health of temporary workers.

Since 2013, Federal OSHA has maintained a Temporary Worker Initiative, devoting inspection resources towards temporary workers and staffing agencies. OSHA regularly cites multiple companies-including host employers-under this Multi-Employer Worksite Doctrine for alleged hazards faced by temporary employers.

Now NIOSH, a federal agency which lacks an enforcement arm, has put forward temporary worker guidance. According to NIOSH, its guidance addresses temporary workers who are paid by a staffing company and assigned to a host employer, including for both short- and long-term assignments. NIOSH explains that "the risk of experiencing a work-related injury may be higher for temporary workers than for non-temporary workers."