Worker Safety and Staffing Agencies

Barracuda Staffing specializes in meeting the needs of Oklahoma Employers.

Acting as your own human resource department, Barracuda Staffing draws all level of employees ready to fill positions. Whether you’re in need of temporary employees for a special project or direct hire positions for the long haul, Barracuda Staffing is your source for the perfect candidate.

source: OSHA

Both Host Employers and Staffing Agencies Have Roles in Worker Safety

Both host employers and staffing agencies have roles in complying with workplace health and safety requirements and they share responsibility for ensuring worker safety and health.

A key concept is that each employer should consider the hazards it is in a position to prevent and correct, and in a position to comply with OSHA standards. For example: staffing agencies might provide general safety and health training, and host employers provide specific training tailored to the particular workplace equipment/hazards.

• The key is communication between the agency and the host to ensure that the necessary protections are provided.
• Staffing agencies have a duty to inquire into the conditions of their workers’ assigned workplaces. They must ensure that they are sending workers to a safe workplace.
• Ignorance of hazards is not an excuse.
• Staffing agencies need not become experts on specific workplace hazards, but they should determine what conditions exist at their client (host) agencies, what hazards may be encountered, and how best to ensure protection for the temporary workers.
• The staffing agency has the duty to inquire and verify that the host has fulfilled its responsibilities for a safe workplace.
• And, just as important: Host employers must treat temporary workers like any other workers in terms of training and safety and health protections.

While the extent of responsibility under the law of staffing agencies and host employers is dependent on the specific facts of each case, staffing agencies and host employers are jointly responsible for maintaining a safe work environment for temporary workers – including, for example, ensuring that OSHA’s training, hazard communication, and recordkeeping requirements are fulfilled.