Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance of Temporary Help Supply Workers in Washington State

Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance of Temporary Help Supply Workers in Washington State

Background: Previous research on the impact of temporary on the risk of worker injury has focused on discrepancies in health outcomes rather than on the causes of the differential. We use the workers’ compensation database in Washington State and matched injured worker surveys to conduct occupational health and safety surveillance of the temporary help supply (THS) industry.

Methods: Workers’ compensation measures for temporary workers are compared to those of permanent employees working in comparable occupations. We also explore differences between temporary and permanent workers in job experience, specific tasks performed, hazards faced, safety training and equipment, and differences in age and tenure through telephone interviews with recently injured temporary and permanent workers, matched by workplace and demographic characteristics.  Interviews also covered ways to reduce injuries to workers and suggestions for how best to deliver educational material.

Results: Workers who are employed by temporary agencies have a higher claims rate and more lost workdays per 100 FTEs than do their permanently employed counterparts, controlling for industry. Surveys show that temporary workers were less likely to have been asked about their expertise before the assignment. They rated the quality of safety training received from the client employer to be less adequate than that reported by their permanent counterparts. Discrepancies suggestive of higher risk for temporary workers were found as well for frequency of training, adequacy of supervision and whether they could refuse tasks they deemed to be unsafe. We found mixed evidence of discrepancy in level of hazard exposure.