To weather a rough economy, many companies turn to temporary employment agencies, for more reasons than one. For example, a temporary worker is officially employed by the employment agency, so the contracting company is not responsible for health insurance, 401(k) benefits, Social Security, unemployment or workers’ compensation claims.
Another advantage is what Gerald Chattman calls the learning curve.
“Today, many agencies absorb the cost to train their temporary workers, and in some cases, to custom-train them with specific skills to match their clients’ needs,” says Chattman, managing partner of Buckingham Doolittle & Burroughs LLP. “That’s a big plus for companies in any economy.”
Lisa Doyle, sales manager for Manpower, says for long- or short-term assignments, Manpower employees receive industry-specific training.
“In our industry, we’re leading the pack on this front because we provide more than 1,000 training programs to our employees for free,” Doyle says.
While there are advantages to using temporary workers, says Chattman, there are serious caveats. For example, although the agency is responsible for workers’ compensation claims, a contracting company has tort liability in case of an accident.
“If a company brings in a temp to drive a truck and that person is in an accident, the company does have some responsibility,” he says, adding that this liability particularly applies where there’s inherent danger in doing the job.
And then there’s Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1967.
“The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission learned a long time ago that some companies would request employment agencies to send only workers who fit their race, gender or age preferences,” says Chattman, “and some agencies with no integrity would go along with that.”
Now, don’t even think about it, he says, because in the past year, the EEOC passed interpretative regulations to prevent companies from using employment services to discriminate in such ways.
Employment agencies must bring discriminatory infringements to the attention of the contracting company’s upper management, and in some cases, refuse service to that company until the discrimination ceases. If an agency doesn’t comply with these regulations, it can be held co-liable with the contracting company in a discrimination action.
“This is something that has absolutely trickled down to employment agencies,” says Doyle, “but any reputable agency would not accept a discriminatory order from a customer.”
So if you’re smart, don’t ask. How to reach: Buckingham Doolittle & Burroughs LLP, (330) 376-5300 or www.bdblaw.com; Manpower, (330) 434-1625 or www.us.manpower.com
Consider a temp
First, the bad news.
After Sept. 11, many companies promptly felt the impact of an even weaker economy. But the blow was softened for businesses using temporary employees, says Lisa Doyle, Manpower’s area sales manager.
“Staffing by way of a temporary agency enables a company to react quickly and strategically during a sudden downturn. If you must ramp down rapidly, all it takes is one phone call — to the temporary agency,” says Doyle. “And in terms of bad press, the next day’s headlines don’t proclaim, ‘Company X lays off 50 of its employees!'”
Conversely, temp agencies are key indicators of a recovering economy.
“Companies coming out of a soft economy are more reserved about hiring again, and bring in employees on a temporary basis until they’re sure their company has turned the corner,” Doyle says. “For us, that’s a good thing.”
