When looking for employment, there are a variety of positions that are considered including those that are exempt versus non-exempt. In some employment situations, you may be hired as a contract employment, temporary employee or even as a freelancer. Understanding the dynamics of the position is important to understand your legal responsibilities and benefits.
If employed as a temporary employee, and working through a temporary staffing agency, you may have heard the term “borrowed servant. In legal terms, the relationship established between the contracting organization and the temporary staffing agency provides for temporary use of employees, on an as-needed basis. When this transfer of skilled use is made, the contracting organization is said to be essentially “borrowing” the services of the temporary staffing agency. You, as the temporary employee, are the “borrowed” employee, or borrowed servant.
In most states, the contracting organization is considered the “special” employer while your temporary staffing agency is considered the “general” employer. In this arrangement, your general employer will manage all of your payroll and compensation issues.
One of the most important aspects of this type of “borrowed servant” relationship, within and among temporary staffing agencies, involves the risks and liabilities associated with moving you into a temporary staffing position. In most cases, the legal issues arise with regard to injuries you may sustain while working on the premises of the “special” employer. The dispute, essentially, involves who carries right of control over your duties and who, ultimately, is responsible for the payment of any benefits attributed to your work injury. While the “special” employer is often responsible for this type of claim, there are contracts that are established between the special employer and general employer that often transfer this risk back to the general employer.
The disadvantage to working within a temporary staffing position involves the dispute over who will manage your work related injury. It is important, therefore, that you work with a temporary staffing agency that is highly reputable. In addition, you may want to request information about the contracts and agreements to determine there is a clear relationship as to who is the general employer and who is the special employer and what, if any, implications these agreements may have on your benefits should you become injured while at work.
Temporary employment is a vital part of our economy and provides many displaced skilled workers with viable forms of income. Because there are agent relationships built with temporary employment, it is important to know how the concept of “borrowed servant” will impact your employment risks and who, ultimately, is responsible for the financial care should you become injured on the job.
