A worker suffered serious burns in a work-related injury while he was temporarily employed at a Chicago, Illinois area factory. The man suffered horrific burns that eventually claimed his life. According to the report, his bosses refused to call 911 after the work-related injury occurred. The man had to wait over an hour to get medical treatment.
OSHA is working to make sure that all temporary employees in Illinois and other states are being properly protected by their employers. The organization hopes that by sending regional investigators to large employers, they can assure that temporary employees are properly trained in safety procedures. The new code would ensure that temp workers would receive any language and vocabulary training needed to reduce the risk of a work-related injury.
OSHA has received reports of an alarming number of temporary workers suffering a work-related injury or an accident that resulted in death. Many of these accidents occurred on the first day of employment, indicating a serious lack of training before allowing temp workers in the field. The burned worker was employed as a temp worker at the time of the accident. While it is not definitively known why employers did not call 911, a co-worker ultimately had to transport the man to the hospital.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that, in this particular case, the employer could be criminally prosecuted. The employer denies all fault in both the lawsuit brought by the family and the civil fines that have been levied. The OSHA hopes that by proposing new codes for safety and employee training they could reduce the number of fatalities and the number of any type of work-related injury.
If an employee is injured in the normal course of his job, he could file a workers’ compensation claim. This would be applicable for any work-related injury sustained because of lack of training for temporary employees. Temp workers also have protective rights under the law, just as full-time workers do.
Source: The Center for Public Integrity, “OSHA strengthens protections for temp workers,” Jim Morris, April 29, 2013
