Scrutinize Any Agreements Involving Temporary Workers In Case Of Workplace Incident

In any agreements covering temporary workers, make sure to carefully review the provisions that a reviewing court likely would examine should an injury to one of the workers occur while performing the contracted-for services for purposes of assessing litigation risk.  Specifically, pay close attention to any provisions purporting to classify which entity (or entities) is the appropriate employer and any provisions relating to the exercise of control over the workers.

Yesterday, for example, in a North Carolina state court case, the court reviewed the relationship between a contractor that provided temporary workers and a steel company after a 700-pound arc of tubular steel struck one of the temporary workers, who later died from the injuries.  The court considered whether under North Carolina law, both the contractor and the steel company for whom the worker was providing services received the protection of the state’s workers’ compensation regime (and thus were immune from a separate civil lawsuit).  The North Carolina court found that both entities were protected by the workers’ compensation regime because the worker was a “special employee” (or “borrowed servant” of the steel company).  Even though the contract between the contractor and the steel company was silent on who the worker was employed by, the court found that an implied contract existed between the worker and the steel contractor given that the worker accepted an assignment to work for the steel company pursuant to the contractor/steel company contract.  The court also found that the type of work being performed by the worker was “essentially that of the special employer,” and that the steel company controlled the required skill set the worker needed given an absolute right to return the worker to the contractor immediately if the worker did not meet the steel company’s standards.