There are many companies throughout California and across the country that provide temporary workers to companies in many industries. These temporary workers provide additional manpower when other workers are out for medical leave or a company is simply short workers for a period of time. Studies show, however, that these temp workers are injured at a higher rate than regular workers who perform the same duties on a daily basis. It is crucial that temp workers be extra cautious when performing these temporary duties that may be unfamiliar to them.
A temp company, Priority Workforce, was recently put under scrutiny after a review found that they have been cited for 11 cases of safety violations. In one incident, an employee was killed and four others were injured. A number of these cases involved lack of safety training from the company. When temp workers are hired on for a short period of time, companies may fail to give them the proper training that will keep them safe on the job. As a result, they are more likely to become injured or killed when working around dangerous equipment.
In one case, a temp worker lost his fingers while cleaning a dough machine. The worker said he had never cleaned the machine before. The protection guard was insufficient and his fingers slipped through. Another incident resulted in the death of a temp worker who was not given proper forklift training and was crushed by a forklift.
All workers should receive the proper safety training for the job they are working on. Those who feel they did not get sufficient training and were injured as a result, may be entitled to compensation for the damages.