The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited two separate companies and their respective staffing suppliers after unrelated accidents in which temps suffered amputations.

MoorCo Inc. Temple, Texas-based MooreCo Inc., a furniture manufacturer, was cited for three repeated and six serious violations and placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program. In two separate incidents spanning 14 months, temporary workers assigned to MooreCo Inc. were seriously injured when inadequately guarded machines pulled them in. Most recently, the machine removed the worker’s skin from the wrist to the shoulder. In the prior incident, the temp’s skin was removed from the wrist down, and fingertips were amputated.

The agency also cited ManpowerGroup US Inc., the temporary staffing agency providing MooreCo with workers, for one repeated violation for failing to provide machine guarding.

Proposed fines are $122,500 for MooreCo and $38,500 for Manpower.

Genesis Today Inc. Health food supplement manufacturer Genesis Today Inc. was cited for one willful safety violation at its Austin, Texas, facility for failing to provide machine guarding to prevent workers from being caught in an auger conveyor. Its inspection was triggered by an incident in which a temp worker’s hand was caught in the machine and amputated.

Staffing provider Texas Management Division Inc. was cited for a serious violation for failing to ensure the machine was properly guarded.

Genesis Today’s fines total $56,000 and Texas Management Division’s fines total $7,000.

OSHA launched an initiative in 2013 to improve workplace safety and health for temporary workers and by doing so, OSHA inspectors look at the roles of the host employer and the staffing agency in eliminating workplace hazards.

“Providing contingent workers with proper training and safety equipment necessary to perform the job with minimal to no risk is actually the responsibility of both the host company and the staffing company,” say Dawn McCartney, director of contingent workforce strategies and research for Staffing Industry Analysts. “The bottom line is the identical or equivalent safety training given to full-time employees should be automatically given to the contingent worker.” In a prior CWS 3.0 article, McCartney outlines some basic steps that can be implemented to help ensure your contingent workers are provided with the proper training and safety equipment necessary to perform the job.

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