I spent the month of October at two different conferences, the National Safety Council in Atlanta and EHS Today’s Leadership Conference and of the several themes to emerge one could not have come through more strongly: OSHA is taking a hard stand on the safety of temporary workers. Temporary, lasting for only a limited period of time; not permanent; transient; not made to last; single use, disposable.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability 40.4% of the U.S. workforce is now made up of contingent workers—temps, contractors, or other workers whose job status is shaky at best. There’s a tendency among many to think of “temps” as worth less to society than the stalwarts who pay mortgages, own homes, and grind it out forty-plus hours (when exactly did we lose the 40-hour work week?
