For this discussion forum, you must first watch the short (33 minute) documentary "Permanently Temporary: The Truth About Temp Labor," produced by Vice News. As you watch the documentary, you will note that it does not cover only OSHA and workplace safety, the topic of this week's material. Instead, the documentary touches upon many issues we have discussed during the course and thus makes an ideal starting point for our discussion during the last week of class. The documentary talks about temporary workers and employment agencies (Week 1), sexual harassment and discrimination (week 3), wages (week 6) and also workplace safety (week 8).
After watching the documentary, answer the following in your discussion forum post:
The documentary mentions Carlos Sentenos, the worker who was killed in a shampoo factory after gallons of acid fell on it. As you heard, both the temp agency and the warehouse had their arguments as to why they should not be liable for the man's death.
How should the legal system distribute blame (i.e. legal liability) for injuries that temp workers suffer? Should the temp agency be liable, even though they are not physically present at the work site, or should the company that manages the work site be liable, even though it is not the worker's employer? Support your answer.
What other changes should be made (such as in the legal system), to accommodate and better deal with this new reality in today's employment, given the increasing number of temp employees?
As mentioned in the documentary, at a certain point, businesses chose to take the "low road" and put profits over people. Should this approach be changed? Will it be possible to change this? If so, how? Should there be government involved via regulations or legislation? Why or why not?