Over half a million temporary workers and seasonal employees are hired in the retail and logistics sectors during the busy holiday season. Seasonal hiring also increases during other times of the year based on industry demand.
Temporary and seasonal workers can face heightened risks of workplace injuries due to factors such as minimal training, high-pressure work environments, and less focus on safety as employers try to maximize profits when demand is highest.
Workers who are hired as employees to fill short-term business needs typically have the same rights as full-time workers, including the right to file a workers’ compensation claim for an on-the-job injury. Seasonal contract workers may not qualify for workers’ compensation, but they might still have legal options if they’re hurt on the job.
Who’s Hiring This Holiday Season 2024
Projections for this year show a slight decrease in holiday hiring compared to previous years, with employers expected to add 520,000 jobs during the final quarter of 2024, down 7.8% from 2023.
The dip in hiring continues a trend of declining holiday hires since the pandemic. Economic pressures such as inflation and depleted savings, as well as a shift toward online shopping and automated technology, are also affecting seasonal spending and hiring.
Amazon plans to deliver 1.5 billion Christmas packages and hire 250,000 workers for the 2024 holiday season.
The National Retail Federation expects total holiday sales in 2024 to grow between 2.5% and 3.5% over 2023, with much of this growth coming from e-commerce. This Christmas season, UPS, which is hiring more than 125,000 seasonal workers, forecasts that it will deliver 750 million packages, while Amazon is set to deliver 1.5 billion Christmas packages and hire 250,000 workers for the holiday season.
Other employers stepping up their hiring around the holidays are DHL (5,000 additional staff), the USPS (7,500), Target (100,000), Bath & Body Works (30,000), Macy’s (31,500), and JCPenney (10,000). FedEx doesn’t disclose seasonal hiring plans, but its website shows many seasonal job listings that are typical for this time of year.
Seasonal Hiring Not Limited to Holidays
The holiday season primarily sees an uptick in hires for retailers, companies that operate warehousing and fulfillment centers, package delivery companies, caterers and restaurants, and the hospitality and tourism industry.
Summer is another peak time for seasonal hires. Hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues, national parks, campgrounds, summer camps, amusement parks, farms and orchards, and construction companies all usually ramp up hiring in the warmer weather months.
Tax season (January – April), Spring/Easter (March – April), and the back-to-school period (July – September) can also see peak demand for certain industries and lead to seasonal hiring.
Seasonal Jobs Can Have High Injury Rates
While blue collar jobs like manufacturing and construction are traditionally associated with a higher injury risk due to heavy machinery, heights, and hazardous materials, retail and other white collar workers are in some cases statistically more likely to experience an injury or illness on the job.
Transportation and warehousing, agriculture and forestry, and construction and manufacturing are among the industries with the highest recorded injury rates. They are also among the industries that tend to hire seasonal workers. But statistics show that retail work can be surprisingly hazardous to workers’ health.
Seasonal work can be more fast-paced and high-pressure because of compressed timelines and higher workloads, leading to a higher injury rate.
In 2023, for example, BLS data shows that the injury rate per 100,000 full-time workers was higher for retail workers than it was for workers in the transportation and warehousing, manufacturing, and construction industries. Accommodation and food service workers also had a higher rate of injuries and illnesses than construction workers in 2023.
Common retail injuries include slips, trips, and falls, muscle strains and sprains from lifting heavy objects, cuts from sharp objects like box cutters, repetitive motion injuries from prolonged standing or cashier work, and back injuries due to improper lifting techniques.
Many delivery and warehouse workers, whether year-round or seasonal, also face injury risks related to handling merchandise. Evidence suggests that Amazon drivers and Amazon warehouse workers in particular have a higher rate of accidents and injuries, in part due to performance pressures.
Seasonal work, however, is by its nature more fast-paced and high-pressure because of compressed timelines and higher workloads. Employees who are brought on full-time to handle a short-term demand surge often face a unique set of circumstances—including limited training and supervision, a lack of familiarity with the work environment, and working long and irregular hours—that can make them more susceptible to workplace injuries.
Because the workers’ compensation system is not fault-based, it doesn’t matter how, or why, an on-the-job injury occurs. It could be a worker’s own mistake, a coworker’s negligence, a faulty piece of equipment, or an employer’s oversight.
Regardless of how their injury occurred, or how long they’ve been employed, an injured worker should receive employer-provided medical coverage, wage replacement, and disability benefits, even for repetitive stress injuries.
Unusual Circumstances and Exceptions
There might be an exception to this rule when a seasonal worker is not, in fact, an employee, and is instead classified as an independent contractor or freelance worker. However, gray areas exist that may be worth discussing with an injury attorney.
Companies sometimes misclassify employees as independent contractors, and the hiring entity may provide coverage in some cases. If no workers’ compensation is available, compensation from a personal injury lawsuit might be, since contractors are not bound by the “no fault” rules of the workers’ comp system.
Employees may also be allowed to file a personal injury lawsuit in addition to a workers’ compensation claim. This could occur if, say, a delivery driver gets into a car accident with another motorist.
The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is one of the busiest travel times of the year. NHTSA reports that there are generally more traffic crashes during holiday periods than non-holiday periods due to increased travel time, more alcohol use, and excessive driving speed.
No Matter The Season, Graham Law is Here For Injured Workers
For many employers and employees, there are times of the year when activity picks up. This increase in activity can bring with it more customer demands, higher stress, and heavier workloads that raise the risk for potential accidents.
Whether you’re hired for extra help in retail stores, to assist with seasonal deliveries, or to lend a hand during some other especially busy period, it’s important to understand that you have the same workers’ compensation rights as full-time employees.
Graham Law is your personal injury and workers’ compensation law firm for all seasons. To discuss a workplace injury, schedule a free case review.
