California workers may go to work and expect to be safe. Safe working conditions, after all, are a basic employee right. In an effort to make the environment safe, employers should provide training and safety equipment. There should be procedures in place that help to prevent an accident and instruct employees on how to react should an unfortunate event occur. Federal and state employee laws also provide minimum standards, in many cases, for how employers need to treat employees when it comes to safety.
However, not every California employer follows these safety rules and employment laws. Some workplaces do not provide safe working environments and workers are put at risk. They often risk severe injuries if an accident happens.
A new study shows that one group of California workers is in particular danger at work — blue collar temporary workers. Over the last few years, the number of temporary workers in blue collar jobs has increased while the rate of hiring regular employees has decreased. Currently 2.8 million workers are in the temp industry.
According to the study, temporary workers in California have a 50 percent greater risk of getting hurt on the job compared with non-temporary workers. Officials claim that this is because so many temporary workers are poorly trained by the temp companies and by the companies where they go to work. Furthermore, safety equipment is often not provided. Finally, many of these injuries suffered by temporary workers go under reported because workers are afraid they won’t be hired back.
If unsafe working conditions cause problems for temporary workers, these workers can find themselves in the middle of a complicated legal battle between the temp agency and the business. In these situations employees should make sure they know and understand their legal rights.
Source: Business Insider, “Inside The Increasingly Dangerous World Faced By Temporary Workers,” Michael Grabell, Olga Pierce And Jeff Larson, Dec. 19, 2013
