Today’s post was shared by Gelman on Workplace Injuries and comes from www.propublica.org. The article is a tragic, difficult read. Sympathies go to all the loved ones of the workers who were killed at their jobs.
“A ProPublica analysis of millions of workers’ compensation claims shows that in five states, representing more than a fifth of the U.S. population, temps face a significantly greater risk of getting injured on the job than permanent employees,” according to the article.
And this report is extremely important and should spur action to protect workers as temp agencies are in even more intense work environments, and more workers are relying on being employed by temp agencies to survive.
“The growing reliance on temps subverts one of the strongest incentives for companies to protect workers. The workers’ comp system was designed to encourage safety through economic pressure; companies with higher injury rates pay higher insurance premiums. Hiring temp workers shields companies from those costs. If a temp worker gets hurt, the temp agency pays the workers’ comp, even though it has little or no control over job sites,” according to the article.
Fortunately, in Nebraska and Iowa, most, but not all, temporary employees are covered by workers’ compensation. The article does talk about how temporary workers are often retaliated against for filing claims, though. But the better solution is obviously both training and a safer job environment for all workers so none are getting hurt in the first place.
 Ninety minutes into his first day on the first job of his life, Day Davis, pictured above, was called over to help at Palletizer No. 4 at the Bacardi bottling plant in Jacksonville, Fla. Above is a composite image of the times Davis is seen in a surveillance video before an all-too-common story for temp workers unfolded. A version of this story was produced by Univision and will air tonight at 6:30 p.m. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – This was it, he told his brother Jojo. He would finally be able to pay his mother back for the fender bender, buy some new shoes and, if things went well, maybe even start a life with his fiancee who was living in Atlanta. After getting his high school diploma, completing federal job training and sending out dozens of applications, Day Davis, 21, got a job. It was through a temp agency and didn’t pay very much, but he would be working at the Bacardi bottling plant, making the best-selling rum in the world. Davis called his mother to tell her the good news and ask if she could pick him up so he could buy the required steel-toe boots, white shirt and khaki pants and get to the factory for a 15-minute orientation before his 3 p.m. shift. Word spread quickly through the family. “Me and my brother was like, ‘Don’t mess up now, you got to do good, don’t mess up,’ ” said his younger sister, Nia. It was a humid 90 degrees as Davis walked into Bacardi’s Warehouse No. 7 to the rattle of glass bottles,… |
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
Pingback: OSHA Enforcement Cases Involving Temps On the Rise | Workers' Compensation Watch