Safety Starts at the Top

"All injuries and occupational illnesses can be prevented. Safety is everyone's responsibility. All operating exposures can be safeguarded. Management has a responsibility to train all employees to work safely. Working safely is a condition of employment."
- Safety philosophy of Ryan Staffing, Tim Ryan, President

A staffing partner with a genuine interest in the safety and well being of its employees is a practice worthy of your attention.

Aside from a moral obligation to provide a safe work environment, the cost benefits and legal ramifications surrounding industrial accidents involving temp workers is out there for both the staffing provider and its client.

The medical and indemnity costs of a worker's compensation claim are the responsibility of the staffing provider. But those costs are often passed along in the form of higher bill rates. From a legal standpoint, several co-employment issues present themselves. In Ohio, violation of specific safety requirement (VSSR) claims resulting from an accident involving a temp are the responsibility of the client company (Ind. Comm. Of Ohio Resolution R97-1-01). OSHA record-keeping and resulting fines are directed at the client company. Providing safety training and supplying personal protective equipment have been found to be joint responsibilities.

Another big expense can be damage done that may not result in a worker's compensation claim, referred to as "accident-no injury" cases. Those causes can be related to the staffing company providing an unqualified person, the client providing insufficient training, or the placement of a temp on a job that they were not initially sent to perform. (You know, like when the temp drives a fork truck through a wall.)

The point is that all of these actions can have costly consequences and having a staffing partner that actively manages its safety risk should be an important consideration in your selection of a temp help supplier.

What should you expect from your staffing provider?

1. In most situations your staffing provider does not directly control the work environment of where the temp is working...you do. Such things as safety training, rule enforcement, providing personal protective equipment, etc, are the client's responsibility.

What you can expect from your provider is to provide a basic safety orientation prior to the temp starting work and to cover rules and requirements specific to your operation. If you don't already, ask your service to provide you a copy of their orientation. Make sure your service maintains a checklist signed by the temp acknowledging the safety orientation training.

2. Make sure your provider aggressively investigates all reported injuries and accidents. Small scratches can have a way of becoming infected lawsuits if left to heal on their own. At the very least your service should:

• Have their own detailed accident investigation form for the injured worker to complete. This should include detailed descriptions of how the accident happened, the names of witnesses, the type of injury and body parts impacted and prior related physical problems.
• Get appropriate medical releases signed by the injured worker to get ALL appropriate medical records past and present.
• Utilize a post accident drug testing program that is both timely and reviewed by an approved medical review officer.
• Obtain detailed statements from all witnesses in writing and when necessary get pictures of accident scene. DOCUMENTATION IS VITAL!
• Have a physician available with an industrial hygiene background that can review medical reports and provide independent medical opinions concerning claim allowance issues. Also your provider should have a strong working relationship with their managed care organization and have competent legal representation available to challenge contested claims.

3. Your staffing provider should have a progressive disciplinary program as it pertains to violations of safety policies and rules. Working safely must be a condition of employment. Violating this policy should result in termination of employment both for the protection of the temporary and those they are working alongside.

4. To make all of this work it is incumbent of the client to provide timely notification of all accidents to the provider, preferably no later than 24 hours after the accident happens. While it is the injured worker's responsibility to report all accidents right away it doesn't always happen. The more time that lapses in reporting makes all of the above more difficult to accomplish.

5. Include your temps in all your safety meetings. This reinforces the importance of safety to both your own staff as well as the temps that work alongside them.

6. It can be beneficial to both client and provider to have a transitional work program available for certified claims involving lost work days. In most cases Ryan Staffing provides "light duty" work to those claimants with restrictions. We also offer our clients 50 percent off their bill rate for providing transitional work to Ryan employees injured at their facilities.

These suggestions are not all inclusive. The most important thing to remember is that the safety and well being of personnel provided by your supplier is a joint responsibility.