Southern Illinois Occupational Safety and Health Day (SIOSH) - Temporary Workers Initiative Feature Blog
Written by Lori Amerman, IMEC Operations Coordinator and OSHA Authorized Trainer
A series of blogs will be produced to share resources on the topics to be presented. This should help prepare company safety teams to gain a better understanding of tools available and prepare staff.
At the SIOSH Conference on October 30th, Brandy Lozosky, Illinois Department of Labor will address the question: who is responsible for the safety and health of temporary workers? This session focuses on the employer’s responsibility to protect temporary workers. They will provide a clear understanding of both the host employer’s and the staffing agencies role in complying with workplace health and safety requirements.
Temporary workers or leased employees provide companies the flexibility needed to grow the workforce or manage customer demands such as seasonal changes.
Small employers are sometimes not clear of the requirements of managing this contingent workforce. There are misconceptions about having fewer than 50 employees or training requirements.
An employer has an obligation to train employees to protect themselves from all recognized hazards and situations that could be reasonably anticipated. If your company is providing supervision, an injury or illness must be recorded on your OSHA Log.
All new employees or employees moving to a new job or area of the plant must be trained on the job specific requirements before exposure.
Additional Links of Interest:
OSHA: Protecting Temporary Workers - https://www.osha.gov/temp_workers/index.html
EHS Today: Safety 2014: OSHA Focusing on Protecting Temporary Workers - http://ehstoday.com/safety-2014/safety-2014-osha-focusing-protecting-temporary-workers
Illinois Department of Labor: Required Posters - https://www.illinois.gov/idol/Employers/Pages/posters.aspx
OSHA: Recordkeeping - https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/index.html
Training Requirements in OSHA Standards and Training Guidelines - https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha2254.pdf
Speaker Information:
Brandy Lozosky is the Marketing and Training Coordinator for the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) – she holds over 15 years of marketing experience in the public and private sectors. Ms. Lozosky is a previous Fair Labor Standards Compliance Officer at IDOL. Prior to her tenure at IDOL, Ms. Lozosky worked at the Illinois Department of Public Aid as the KidCare Outreach Coordinator, then went on to open and sell a restaurant and a manufacturing company. Ms. Lozosky holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Marketing from Illinois State University.
