142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

304951
Reporting injuries among temporary workers in the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Sara Wuellner, MPH , SHARP Program, WA State Dept. Labor & Industries, Olympia, WA
Christina Rappin , SHARP Program, WA State Dept. Labor & Industries, Olympia, WA
Wendy Lu , SHARP Program, WA State Dept. Labor & Industries, Olympia, WA
David Bonauto, MD, MPH , Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) program, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Olympia, WA
Background: The Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illness (SOII) is the US’s largest occupational injury and illness surveillance system. Each year, the BLS publishes national and state-level estimates of nonfatal work-related injuries based on the OSHA injury and illness records submitted by a sample of employers.   Although several studies have found that sampled employers underreport cases in SOII, less is known about whether the underreporting is systematic or random. One potential area for systematic underreporting is among temporary workers, an increasing segment of the workforce. 

Methods: We conducted a telephone survey with respondents to the 2011 Washington State SOII sample to assess the establishment’s reliance on temporary help and whether injuries among temporary workers were recorded in the host employer’s injury and illness records (as required by the OSHA recordkeeping regulations).  Respondents were selected by industry, ownership, and establishment size to be representative of the state’s SOII-eligible employer population. 

Results: Of the 642 establishments interviewed, 30% utilized temporary help arranged through a temporary staffing agency.  Half of the establishments that hosted and supervised temporary workers did not record injuries among temps on the establishment’s OSHA log, nor did they report the injuries in SOII. Establishments in Transportation and Warehousing, Education, and Health Care and Social Assistance were least likely to record injuries among temporary workers.

Conclusions: Injuries among temporary workers are not captured by SOII.  BLS and OSHA should consider changes to forms, instructions, and education materials to emphasize host employers’ recordkeeping responsibilities.

Learning Areas:

Occupational health and safety

Learning Objectives:
Describe employers who fail to report work-related injuries among temporary workers in the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: For the past four years, I have served as the study coordinator for BLS Undercount Studies in Washington State. As part of these studies, I have evaluated the accuracy of BLS data against other sources of occupational injury and illness data, and conducted interviews with employers about their injury and illness recordkeeping practices.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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