American Staffing Association (01/08/15) Stephen C. Dwyer

As previously reported by ASA, on April 29, 2013, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced an initiative to protect temporary workers. OSHA directed compliance officers to assess whether staffing firms and clients are complying with their safety responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The initiative came on the heels of well-publicized deaths of temporary workers, and is marked by both enforcement and education efforts.

To help staffing firms and clients clearly specify and delineate their respective workplace safety obligations under the law and applicable regulations, ASA has published a second version of its existing model general staffing agreement to include new highlighted safety-specific clauses. Although OSHA cannot endorse the clauses, the agency reviewed them and they were developed by ASA based on OSHA’s published recommended practices. While not necessarily appropriate for every staffing arrangement, the clauses are particularly suited for construction, industrial, and other safety-sensitive sectors of the staffing industry. The new model staffing agreement with safety-specific clauses is available on the ASA model contracts page.