Bituminous Insurance Companies

Studies Find Part-Time Workers at Higher Risk for Injury

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOISH) says that studies in the U.S. and Europe indicated that part-time, temporary, or contract workers are at higher risk for injuries than general full-time workers. They suggest the reasons behind this issue may be found in a research article, "Contingent Workers and Contingent Health: Risks of a Modern Economy," by Kristin J. Cummings, M.D., M.P.H., and Kathleen Kreiss, M.D., that was published in the January 30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The researchers found that:

• According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of fatal occupational injuries among self-employed workers is twice the national average for all workers.
• The rate of needlestick injuries among temporary nurses caring for AIDS patients in eleven U.S. hospitals was 1.65 times higher than the rate for staff nurses working in the same units.
• A 2004 survey of day laborers in the U.S. found that 19 percent of the day laborers reported work-related injuries that required medical attention in the previous year, compared with less than 5 percent of workers in all private industries and about 6 percent of all workers in construction.
• A preliminary analysis of 2000-2004 data shows that contract coal mine workers with at least 15 years of tenure had a higher prevalence of radiographic evidence for coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (black lung) than non-contract coal mine workers.

The NIOSH researchers found that many of these part-time workers were more likely to be young, female, or Hispanic, and to have lower incomes and fewer benefits than workers in traditional employment.

NIOSH is engaged in diverse research partnerships to study the safety and health concerns associated with the changing 21st Century workforce, to suggest ways for pursuing synergies in occupational health protection and work-based health promotion, and to advance job-related injury and illness prevention. Further information is available on the NIOSH Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh.

COPYRIGHT ©2008, ISO Services Properties, Inc.

The information contained in this publication was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. ISO Services Properties, Inc., its companies and employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with either the information herein contained or the safety suggestions herein made. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that every acceptable safety procedure is contained herein or that abnormal or unusual circumstances may not warrant or require further or additional procedure.