Washington Supreme Court rules on worksite health and safety responsibility (JD Supra)

The Washington Supreme Court handed down a decision last week that gives Washington employers an important framework to consider when determining who is responsible for worksite health and safety violations, according to a JD Supra blog post. The Tradesman decision results from two separate lawsuits involving different industries in which staffing agencies — defendants Tradesmen and Laborworks — placed temporary workers with host employers. “Simply put, the written contract terms alone are not determinative regarding liability,” the post stated. Liability is determinable on a case-by-case basis; the Tradesman and Laborworks cases were determined based on the level of control each staffing firm had over the workers and worksite conditions, among other factors.