By Joseph Weigel | August 13, 2020
Temporary workers are hired through temporary worker agencies to provide companies with an alternative hiring process while avoiding the costs associated with hiring employees on a full-time basis. Companies do not have to provide temporary workers with popular work-related benefits (i.e. vacation, health insurance, etc.), and temporary workers are often paid significantly less than permanent employees. Although temporary work agencies can help individuals find work that they otherwise would not be able to find on their own, temporary workers face several challenges relating to workplace rights.
Compared to permanent workers, temporary workers are far more likely to be injured on the job. Reasons for this fact include that temporary workers are not as experienced as permanent workers, and temporary workers rarely receive the same amount of training for safety protocols or otherwise as typical, permanent employees do. So, the question is, what legal rights do these temporary workers have when they are involved in a workplace accident?
The first place to look for protections for temporary workers is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA rules apply to all permanent and temporary workers. There are three key rules that temporary workers should take note of: 1) Temporary workers have the legal right to be provided a safe work environment that does not include workplace hazards, 2) adequate protective equipment must be provided to temporary employees as needed, and 3) temporary employees must receive the proper training not only on how to perform the pertinent job correctly, but how to keep themselves safe in the workplace.
In 2017, Illinois passed the Responsible Jobs Creation Act, making Illinois a leader among most states in protecting temporary workers. This Act requires companies to comply with OSHA regulations for temporary workers, which include the rules listed above. However, temporary workers cannot file a worker’s compensation claim against the employer, nor can they sue the company for a negligence claim. On the other hand, temporary workers still have a right to sue the temporary agency for workers’ compensation.
In March of 2017, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District held that a temporary employee was barred from pursuing a negligence claim against the company he was assigned to work at by a temporary work agency. Falge v. Lindoo Installations, Inc., 74 N.E.3d 520, 522 (Ill. App. Ct. 2017). In the case, the temporary employee had a finger severed in a workplace accident. Since it was undisputedly established that the employee was assigned to the company through a temporary worker agency, and there was undisputed material facts that demonstrated that the employee had a borrowed-employee relationship with the company, the court held that the temporary employee could not move forward with the negligence claim. If the temporary employee could have proved that he was not provided a safe work environment, he was not given adequate protective equipment, or that he did not receive proper training on his work duties or safety, then the employee may have been able to pursue a suit against the employer, based on his legal rights deriving from OSHA.
The law offices of McCarthy, Callas, & Feeney handle cases of labor, employment, and workers’ compensation law. If you feel that you need a lawyer, please contact us at McCarthy, Callas & Feeney so we can discuss your legal options moving forward. Call (309)-788-2800 to connect with a lawyer. Our firm practices extensively in Moline and Rock Island, Illinois, as well as Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa.