Treat your temporary employees as if they were permanent employees. Train them well.
Temporary Employee Guidelines
Does your department employ contingent, contractual, seasonal, freelance or “just-in-time” employees? If so, then your department employs temporary employees and may be responsible for their on-the job safety.
Cal/OSHA considers temporary employees to be a “statutory employee” of the employer. Therefore, when a County department supervises the day-to-day activities of a temporary employee, Cal/OSHA expects the County to treat that employee as if he or she was a regular, permanent employee.
The question of whether a County department supervises the day-to-day activities of a temporary employee can sometimes be difficult to resolve. Cal/OSHA determines whether the County department directs the details, means, methods and processes by which work is completed. If the County department has the greatest amount of control over the working conditions of a temporary employee, then Cal/OSHA considers the employee to be a County employee .
County departments should review their current policies and procedures for temporary employees to ensure the safety of their entire workforce. Costs associated with training and protecting temporary employees is minimal in comparison to the potential costs of fines, litigation and business interruption.