Temp & Staffing Agency Workers Hurt on the Job: Who's Actually Liable?

By Frank Younes, Work Injury Attorney · Omaha, Nebraska · Updated July 2026

Warehouse, forklift, manufacturing, and light-industrial placements make up a large share of the temp and staffing workforce across Nebraska and Iowa — and when someone gets hurt in one of these jobs, almost no one explains clearly who is actually responsible for what happens next.

Two Employers, One Injury

In a staffing arrangement, you effectively have two employers. Your general employer is the staffing agency: it pays your wages and usually carries the workers' compensation insurance policy. Your special employer (sometimes called the "borrowing employer") is the client company where you're actually assigned day-to-day — it directs your tasks, supervises your work, and controls the worksite.

Nebraska's Dual-Employer / Borrowed-Servant Rule

When a client company has enough day-to-day control over your work to qualify as your special employer, it can share — or fully assume — workers' comp responsibility alongside the staffing agency. The trade-off is important: workers' comp's exclusive remedy rule normally means you can't also sue your employer in a regular lawsuit over a workplace injury. If the host company qualifies as your special employer, it typically gets that same lawsuit protection — even though you never applied for a job there directly.

In practice, this surprises a lot of injured temp workers. Many assume they can sue "the company I was actually working for" the way they could sue a stranger who hurt them, and are surprised to learn that if it qualifies as a special employer, workers' comp is still the only remedy against it.

When You Can Still Sue a Third Party

The special-employer exclusive-remedy protection only applies to your employer or employers — it does not protect an unrelated third party who caused your injury. Common examples: you're hurt by defective equipment (a product liability claim against the manufacturer), a subcontractor's negligent driving on the job site, an entirely separate company working the same site, or a property owner who isn't your employer at all. These third-party claims can add compensation workers' comp doesn't provide, including pain and suffering and full wage loss.

What to Do If You're a Temp or Staffing Worker Hurt on the Job

1. Report the injury to both your onsite supervisor at the client company and your staffing agency representative immediately — in writing if possible.
2. Ask, in writing, which company's workers' comp insurer is handling the claim. This is often genuinely unclear at first and gets confused between the agency and the client company.
3. Don't assume you have no case against the site owner or another company involved. Have a lawyer evaluate whether a third party — not just your two employers — contributed to the injury.
4. Watch the clock. Nebraska generally gives you two years from the date of injury to file a workers' comp claim — don't let confusion about which employer is responsible cause you to miss it.

Frequently Asked Questions

If a staffing agency placed me and I got hurt at the client company's worksite, who pays my workers' comp benefits?

It depends on the agreement between the staffing agency and the client company, and whether Nebraska law treats the client company as your special employer. Often the staffing agency's policy pays, but in some arrangements the client company shares or bears that responsibility.

Can I sue the company where I was actually working, instead of just filing a workers' comp claim?

Usually not, if that company qualifies as your special employer under Nebraska's dual-employer doctrine — it typically receives the same lawsuit protection your staffing agency has. You may still be able to pursue a separate claim against an unrelated third party who contributed to your injury.

What if I'm not sure which company's insurance is supposed to cover my injury?

Report the injury in writing to both your onsite supervisor and your staffing agency contact right away, and ask each which insurer is handling it. Don't wait to sort this out before reporting — Nebraska's filing deadlines run from the date of injury regardless of any confusion between employers.

Does it matter if I'm not a U.S. citizen or don't have full work authorization?

Nebraska courts have held that workers' compensation coverage applies to injured employees regardless of immigration status. One notable limitation is that undocumented workers are not entitled to vocational rehabilitation benefits under Nebraska law. Discuss the specifics confidentially with an attorney.

Related reading: Work Injury & Workers' Compensation · Workers' Comp Settlements & Unemployment · Hurt in a Car Accident While Working