Although temporary workers fill many holes in the workforce for companies, according to research more temps are working in manufacturing than any other industry and that the safety of contingent employees continues to be an issue.
In a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, temporary workers currently hold 890,000 of the total 19 million manufacturing positions. However, short-term members of the workforce tend to be trained less by their new worksite employers than their permanent counterparts, resulting in more contingent employee injuries.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the total injury and illness rate for temp workers was 1.9 per 100 full-time employees in 2011. But many employers do not record contract members who get hurt on the job, despite the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) logging law. SHRM suggests that many businesses believe that since the worker is being paid through the staffing agency it is not their responsibility to register injuries, even though OSHA defines temporary employees as being employed by the business where they provide services.
