The Temporary Worker, the Amputation, and the Reporting Clock

The injury is an amputation and therefore triggers time-critical reporting. Under OSHA rules, an amputation must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours after the employer learns of it; a fatality must be reported within 8 hours, and an inpatient hospitalization within 24 hours. The 26-hour delay means the 24-hour reporting window may already have been missed, so the GC must act immediately rather than wait for the staffing agency.

The injury is also recordable: an amputation is recordable, and treatment beyond first aid is recordable. The case must be entered on the OSHA 300 log within 7 calendar days of learning of it, and the log must be retained for 5 years.

The client contract adds a 1-hour notification and 24-hour written report requirement. Those deadlines have also been missed; notify the client now and document the reason for the delay.

Both the GC and the staffing agency may have reporting and recording duties; the GC should not assume the agency's action satisfies its own obligations.

The project manager's statement is wrong in both safety and legal terms. A temporary worker is entitled to the same protections as a direct employee, and the host employer that directs the work has responsibility for the conditions it controls.

• Host employer (GC): the GC superintendent directed the task, owned the saw, and controlled the machine guarding and supervision. The GC is a controlling employer and has a duty to correct hazards it knows or should know about. The injury should be recorded on the GC's log if the GC supervised the worker day-to-day.
• Staffing agency: as the worker's employer, the agency also has duties, including hazard assessment, training, and recording. It may share responsibility with the host.
• Joint responsibility: OSHA can cite both employers. The agency's offer to 'handle OSHA' does not transfer the GC's duties or erase the GC's reporting clock.

The statement also creates a practical risk: treating the worker as 'not ours' discourages reporting and may lead to retaliation or under-recording. The GC should coordinate with the agency but retain its own compliance owner.

Immediate corrective actions

• Remove the saw from service until the guard is replaced and verified.
• Audit all table saws and cutting equipment for guards, push sticks, and safe operating procedures.
• Investigate the injury with the worker and witnesses; determine why the guard was removed and why the task was assigned to a worker with three days on site.
• Provide task-specific training and supervision for temporary workers; verify comprehension, not just attendance.
• Complete OSHA reporting and OSHA 300 entry; notify the client.

Contract and procedure changes

• Define in the staffing contract who reports, who records, who investigates, and who provides training; require the host and agency to exchange injury information within a set time.
• Add a pre-task check for machine guarding and a stop-work trigger for missing guards.
• Require host supervision of temporary workers on hazardous tasks and a minimum qualification before operating powered saws.
• Build a reporting clock into the site procedure: any amputation, hospitalization, or fatality triggers immediate notification to the safety manager, the client, and OSHA as required.
• Verify corrective-action effectiveness through an audit and track the case in the incident system.