CSP Safety & Workers' Compensation in Staffing 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under OSHA's multi-employer worksite policy, which party is typically responsible for recording a temporary worker's injury on the OSHA 300 Log?
- The staffing agency, because it is the employer of record
- The host employer (client), because it controls the worksite where the injury occurred (Correct answer)
- Both the staffing agency and the client must record it separately
- OSHA itself maintains the log for temporary worker injuries
Correct answer: The host employer (client), because it controls the worksite where the injury occurred
OSHA's multi-employer guidance states that the host employer who supervises the day-to-day work is responsible for recording temporary worker injuries on the OSHA 300 Log.
Question 2: A staffing agency's Experience Modification Rate (EMR) is calculated using which primary data source?
- The client company's safety inspection records
- The agency's own workers' compensation claims history over a three-year period (Correct answer)
- OSHA's national average incident rates by industry
- The number of temporary placements made each year
Correct answer: The agency's own workers' compensation claims history over a three-year period
EMR is calculated by state rating bureaus using the staffing agency's own workers' compensation loss history, typically over the most recent three completed policy years.
Question 3: Under OSHA's multi-employer citation policy, a staffing agency can be cited as a 'controlling employer' when it:
- Provides PPE to temporary workers at the client site
- Has the authority to correct or require correction of safety violations at the client worksite (Correct answer)
- Pays the workers' compensation premiums for all temporary staff
- Conducts annual safety training for its permanent employees only
Correct answer: Has the authority to correct or require correction of safety violations at the client worksite
A staffing agency may be cited as a controlling employer if it has contractual or actual authority to identify hazards and require the host employer to correct them.
Question 4: Which federal statute requires staffing agencies to provide temporary workers with information about hazardous chemicals they may encounter at a client's worksite?
- OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) (Correct answer)
- The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
- The Occupational Pension Act
Correct answer: OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200)
OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom/GHS) requires employers, including staffing agencies, to inform workers about chemical hazards through training, labels, and Safety Data Sheets.
Question 5: When a temporary worker is injured on a client's worksite, who is primarily responsible for filing a workers' compensation claim?
- The client company, because the injury occurred at its location
- The staffing agency, because it is the employer of record for the temporary worker (Correct answer)
- The temporary worker must file directly with the state workers' comp board
- The insurance broker that holds the client's general liability policy
Correct answer: The staffing agency, because it is the employer of record for the temporary worker
Because the staffing agency is the employer of record, it carries the workers' compensation insurance and is responsible for filing and managing the claim.
Question 6: A staffing agency's OSHA Recordable Incident Rate (RIR) is calculated as: (Number of recordable injuries × 200,000) ÷ total hours worked. Why is 200,000 used as the constant?
- It represents the average number of employees in the staffing industry
- It represents 100 full-time employees working 40 hours per week for 50 weeks (Correct answer)
- It is the federal OSHA threshold for mandatory reporting
- It represents the maximum allowable incident rate before OSHA intervention
Correct answer: It represents 100 full-time employees working 40 hours per week for 50 weeks
The 200,000-hour constant normalizes the rate to 100 full-time equivalent workers (100 employees × 40 hrs/week × 50 weeks), enabling fair comparisons across companies of different sizes.
Question 7: Which best describes the 'host employer' obligation under OSHA's guidelines for protecting temporary workers?
- The host employer must only provide safety equipment; all training is the staffing agency's duty
- The host employer must treat temporary workers like its own employees regarding worksite-specific hazards and safety training (Correct answer)
- The host employer has no OSHA obligations since the staffing agency is the employer of record
- The host employer must purchase separate workers' compensation coverage for each temporary worker
Correct answer: The host employer must treat temporary workers like its own employees regarding worksite-specific hazards and safety training
OSHA's guidelines make clear that host employers must provide temporary workers with the same worksite-specific hazard training and protections they give to their own direct employees.
CSP Safety & Workers' Compensation in Staffing 1
Under OSHA's multi-employer worksite policy, which party is typically responsible for recording a temporary worker's injury on the OSHA 300 Log?