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OSHA’s hearing conservation standard contains no exemption for temporary or seasonal workers. Any employee — regardless of employment status or how their paycheck is issued — who is exposed to noise at or above 85 dBA TWA must be included in a hearing conservation program. The question of which employer — host or staffing agency — is responsible for each element of that program is genuinely complex, often unwritten, and frequently a source of citation liability for both parties.
Soundtrace works with both host employers and staffing agencies to define HCP responsibilities in writing, ensuring temp workers are enrolled, tested, trained, and protected from day one of noise exposure.
A staffing agency supplies a worker to a food processing plant. The plant has 95 dBA noise levels on the production floor. The worker starts Day 1 with no baseline audiogram, no noise monitoring result, and no HPD training — because neither the agency nor the plant confirmed who was responsible. OSHA will cite the host employer for noise monitoring and HPD failures and may cite the staffing agency for audiometric testing and training gaps. Both parties face penalties for the same worker.
OSHA’s 2019 letter of interpretation to Silver Bay Seafoods explicitly states that the noise standard “does not include a specific exemption from audiometric testing for temporary or seasonal workers.” Any employee exposed to workplace noise at or above the 85 dBA action level must be included in a hearing conservation program, regardless of how long they work there, who issues their paycheck, or whether they are categorized as temporary, seasonal, part-time, or contract.
From day one of qualifying noise exposure, the exposed worker is entitled to: access to hearing protection at no cost, training on HPD use and care, and enrollment in the HCP. The 6-month baseline audiogram window begins that same day.
The 6-month baseline audiogram window has a de-facto exclusionary effect on very short-term workers. If a worker is assigned for only 8 weeks, their baseline audiogram is not due until week 26 — well after the assignment has ended. OSHA acknowledged this in the 1983 rulemaking preamble, noting that audiometric testing would be “administratively difficult or impossible” for seasonal workers cycling through multiple employers.
OSHA’s interpretation: if the audiometric testing obligation becomes due after the employment has ended, the employer is not required to test. But all other HCP obligations — noise monitoring, HPD provision, training — still apply from day one, regardless of how short the assignment is.
A temp worker assigned for 9 months at a single facility has their baseline audiogram due at 6 months — while still on assignment. Many host employers and staffing agencies assume the 6-month exclusion applies to all temps. It does not. If the assignment will extend beyond 6 months, both parties must confirm who will arrange the baseline audiogram.
OSHA’s Temporary Worker Initiative bulletin recommends that the host employer and staffing agency jointly determine responsibility for each HCP element and document it in their services agreement. As a general principle, the party that controls the relevant aspect of the worker’s situation bears primary responsibility for that element:
Host employer primary obligations: noise monitoring and exposure assessment (the host controls the work environment); HPD provision and worksite training on day one; site-specific annual hearing conservation training. The host employer is the exposing employer — it cannot delegate its exposure-related obligations simply because the workers are on someone else’s payroll.
Staffing agency primary obligations: baseline and annual audiometric testing (audiometric records follow the worker, not the worksite); STS notification and follow-up; audiometric recordkeeping. The agency is the employer of record and holds the worker’s medical and employment history across all placements.
OSHA’s guidance strongly recommends that the allocation of HCP responsibilities between host employer and staffing agency be memorialized in writing before the first worker begins assignment. The written agreement should specify: who conducts noise monitoring and shares results with the agency; who provides and trains on HPD from day one; who schedules and pays for baseline audiograms; who handles annual audiograms for extended placements; who manages STS notifications and follow-up; and who maintains audiometric records.
Without this agreement, both parties may assume the other is handling a given element — and when an OSHA inspector finds a temp worker without a baseline audiogram, HPD training documentation, or noise monitoring records, both parties face citation risk. The agreement does not transfer legal obligation; it allocates administrative responsibility and creates a compliance record.
OSHA’s multi-employer worksite policy applies to temporary worker situations. The exposing employer (host) has a general duty to protect workers from hazards it controls, regardless of employment relationship. The creating or controlling employer (also typically the host) faces citation for hazards it created or controls. The staffing agency, as the employer of record, faces citation for failing to ensure workers in its employ receive legally required occupational health services.
In practice, this means that a failed audiometric testing program for a temp worker may generate citations for both parties — the host for noise monitoring and HPD failures, the agency for missing baseline audiograms and training records. Neither party’s citation reduces the other’s liability.
Soundtrace works with host employers and staffing agencies to define HCP responsibilities in writing — covering noise monitoring, HPD provision, training, and audiometric testing for every worker, regardless of employment status.
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