General laborer screening questions: tasks, tools, dispatch reliability and site conditions
On this page
- What does "general laborer" mean on this order?
- Which rules apply to agencies that dispatch general laborers?
- Knockout questions
- Work history and task questions
- Tool and safety questions
- Heat, cold and weather questions
- How general laborer experience gets overstated
- Scoring and a 7-minute call
- Legal cautions
- Questions people ask
General laborer screening questions should find out what physical work the candidate has actually done (cleanup, loading and unloading, sorting, demolition debris, event setup, yard and grounds work), with which hand and power tools, and whether they will be at the dispatch point or site on time every scheduled day. Because general labor tickets change from day to day, also ask how the candidate handles a task that is not on their ticket and how they work in heat, cold and rain. Some states add rules for agencies that dispatch laborers, such as the written notices Illinois and New Jersey require at dispatch, as of October 2026.
This page is for day labor and short-assignment orders where the duties vary. If the order is construction site work, use construction laborer screening questions, which cover OSHA 10 rules, trenches, fall protection and silica. For warehouse and production orders, the light industrial screening questions fit better, and for household moves, see mover screening questions.
What does "general laborer" mean on this order?
Ask the client, or the branch manager taking the order, what the laborer will do on a normal day, which tools they will use and where. Then screen for that, not for "labor" in general.
| Type of ticket | What the work usually looks like | Ask the client |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial cleanup and helper | Sweeping, scraping, emptying scrap bins, breaking down pallets and boxes, helping maintenance or a machine crew | Any power tools, pressure washers or chemicals? Any work near running machines? |
| Loading and unloading | Floor-loaded trailers, containers or box trucks, by hand or with a hand truck | Box weights? Trailers per shift? Heat in the trailer? |
| Recycling and sorting | Sorting material on a line or floor, pulling contaminants | Moving conveyors? Sharps or glass? Gloves supplied? |
| Event and venue setup | Staging, chairs and tables, barricades, load-in and load-out, often at night | Hours, ladders, lifts, overnight finishes? |
| Grounds and yard | Raking, digging, hauling mulch or stone, debris removal | Mowers, trimmers, blowers? Hours in direct sun? |
Which rules apply to agencies that dispatch general laborers?
Federal OSHA treats the agency and the host as joint employers of temporary workers, both responsible for a safe workplace; the temporary worker guide covers who trains and who supplies PPE. Two states go further for laborers, as of October 2026:
- Illinois. Under the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, section 10 requires a statement at the time of dispatch, on a form the Department of Labor approves, listing the nature of the work and basic job duties, the equipment, protective clothing and training required, the wages, the destination, the terms of transportation and any meal or equipment costs. Section 85(c) requires the agency, before assigning a laborer, to ask about the client's safety practices and hazards, give general awareness safety training for the industry's hazards in the laborer's preferred language at no cost, and tell the laborer whom to report safety concerns to. Section 42 sets equal-pay rules for laborers who work more than 720 hours at the same client within 12 months.
- New Jersey. The Temporary Workers' Bill of Rights (N.J.S.A. 34:8D) covers placements in listed occupation groups that include construction laborers, building and grounds cleaning, production, and transportation and material moving. The Department says the assignment notice must be given at dispatch, in English and in the language the worker identifies as their primary language, and covers the work, wages, worksite, transportation, and required clothing, equipment and training. Section 34:8D-7(b) says a covered temporary laborer may not be paid less than the average rate of pay and average cost of benefits of the client's comparable employees.
For the screen, this means you need the duties, equipment and transportation details before you call, because they belong on the notice. It also gives you a fair question to ask every candidate: what they do when the site asks for something that is not on the ticket.
Knockout questions
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Check-in is at [time] at [branch or site]. How will you get there, and what is your backup? | A route or ride and a real backup: "I take the 5:10 bus; if it's late my brother drops me." | A ride from someone whose schedule they have not checked. |
| 2. This ticket is [days and hours]. Can you work all of it, including [early finish or overtime]? | Yes, or a specific exception stated now. | "Probably," then a list of days they cannot work. |
| 3. The work is [outdoors in summer heat / in an unheated building / in the rain], lifting and carrying up to [weight] pounds, standing and walking all shift. Can you perform that, with or without accommodation? | Yes, often with a detail from similar work. | None from the answer. Do not ask medical follow-ups. |
| 4. You need [safety-toe boots, gloves, safety glasses, a hard hat] on day one. Do you have them, or can you get them? | Has them, or knows exactly where to get them and by when. | Planning to borrow boots on the morning of the first shift. |
| 5. This ticket includes [a circular saw, a baler, driving the site truck]. Are you at least 18? | Yes or no. Ask only when a duty legally requires 18. | Placing a minor on a duty the hazardous occupations orders bar. |
Work history and task questions
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Tell me about your last four or five jobs or tickets: the site, what you did, and how each ended. | Sites by name, plain tasks ("unloaded 40-foot containers by hand"), and endings that fit: "the cleanup finished". | "Staffing company, two years" with no sites, or several tickets that ended with being sent home. |
| 7. On a labor ticket you might sweep for two hours, unload a truck, then break down pallets. How do you handle a day like that? | Asks the lead for the order of jobs, keeps moving between tasks, cleans up after each. | Only wants one kind of work. |
| 8. The site supervisor asks you to [drive the forklift, go up on the roof, clear a jammed machine], and it is not on your ticket. What do you do? | Says they are not trained or assigned for it and calls the agency before doing it. | Does whatever the site says, untrained, to look keen. That is how temps get hurt. |
| 9. Unloading by hand: how did you handle heavy or awkward boxes, and how many per trailer? | Keeps the load close, team lifts above the site's limit, builds a stable pallet, gives a realistic count and time. | Brags about never asking for help. |
Tool and safety questions
General laborers often use more tools than the order suggests. Ask which tools they used on the job and who trained them, and listen for guards, eye protection and keeping hands clear.
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 10. Which hand and power tools have you used at work, and which were you trained on? | A specific list: shovel, pry bar, hand truck, pressure washer, leaf blower, reciprocating saw, with where and who showed them. | "All of them." Cannot name a tool they were trained on. |
| 11. Before you use a power tool, what do you check? | Cord or battery, guard in place, the right blade or bit, eye and hearing protection, a clear area. | Removes guards "because they get in the way". |
| 12. Cleaning up, you find broken glass, a needle or an unlabeled container. What do you do? | Does not handle it bare-handed, keeps others away, tells the lead, follows the site's process. | Throws it in the dumpster with the rest. |
| 13. What did your last site require you to wear, and what did they provide? | Names the PPE and who supplied it. | Surprised that boots were required. |
Minimum age matters for tools as well as equipment. The Department of Labor's child labor fact sheet lists hazardous occupations orders that bar workers under 18 from power-driven woodworking machines (Order 5), power-driven hoisting apparatus (Order 7), balers and compactors (Order 12), and power-driven circular saws, band saws, chain saws and similar cutting machines (Order 14), among others. Ask whether the candidate meets the minimum, not their date of birth.
Heat, cold and weather questions
As of October 2026, OSHA's heat rule is still a proposal: OSHA's heat rulemaking page shows it was published on August 30, 2024, with an informal hearing that ended on July 2, 2025. Some states have their own rules. In California, the outdoor heat standard at 8 CCR 3395 requires a newly assigned employee in a high heat area to be closely observed by a supervisor or designee for the first 14 days. Laborers who are new to heat are the ones most at risk, so ask:
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| 14. Tell me about the hottest job you have worked. How did you get through the day? | Water through the shift, shade breaks, lighter loads in the first days, watching coworkers for signs of heat illness. | "I just push through." Has never taken a cool-down break. |
| 15. The site starts at [5:30 a.m.] to beat the heat, or works in [rain, cold]. How does that fit? | A yes, with the gear they own for the conditions. | No rain gear and no plan to get any. |
How general laborer experience gets overstated
- Cleanup as construction. Swept a finished building and listed "construction experience". Ask what was being built and what they did.
- Tools by proximity. "Used saws" because a crew member cut while they carried.
- Equipment claimed from one ride. A forklift or skid steer driven once, presented as experience.
- One agency, many sites. "Staffing, 2023 to present" hides short tickets that ended badly. Ask for each site.
- Reliability assumed. "Always on time" with no plan for a 6 a.m. dispatch.
Scoring and a 7-minute call
Pass or fail: can be at check-in on time with a backup; can work the ticket's days; can do the physical work in the stated conditions, with or without accommodation; has or can get the PPE; meets any legal minimum age for the duties.
Scored 0 to 2 each (10 possible):
- Task match: has done the same kind of work, site by site.
- Flexibility: comfortable switching tasks during a day.
- Boundaries: calls the agency before untrained tasks.
- Tool safety: names tools, guards and protection.
- Weather readiness: realistic about heat, cold and rain.
- Minute 0 to 1: the site, the work, pay, check-in time and place.
- Minutes 1 to 3: knockouts 1 to 5.
- Minutes 3 to 5: questions 6 to 8.
- Minutes 5 to 6: one tool question and one weather question that match the ticket.
- Minutes 6 to 7: what to bring, whom to report to, and how to reach the branch if anything changes.
Legal cautions
General information as of October 2026, not legal advice. Day labor, child labor and criminal history rules vary by state and city. Confirm the rules where the work is done.
The EEOC's pre-employment guidance lets you state a job's physical requirements and ask whether the applicant can meet them, and lets you state attendance requirements and ask whether they can meet those. It does not allow questions about injuries or workers' compensation history. Leave out age beyond the legal minimum, childcare, religion and national origin; the full list is in illegal interview questions.
Questions people ask
What should I ask a general laborer in a phone screen?
Ask what they did on their last few jobs or tickets, site by site, and which hand and power tools they used. Then confirm the knockouts: they can be at the dispatch point or site at the start time with a backup ride, can do the stated physical work outdoors or indoors with or without accommodation, and have the required boots and gear. Finish with what they would do if the site asked for a task that was not on their ticket.
Does Illinois require a written notice for day laborers?
Yes. Under the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, 820 ILCS 175/10, a day and temporary labor service agency must give each laborer a statement at the time of dispatch, on a form approved by the Illinois Department of Labor, listing the work and basic duties, required equipment, protective clothing and training, the wages, the destination, the terms of transportation and any meal or equipment costs.
Do general laborers need OSHA 10?
Not under federal law. OSHA describes its 10-hour Outreach course as voluntary training that is not a certification. Some states and cities require it for construction work, for example Nevada within 15 days of hire and New York City's Site Safety Training card on many job sites, so check the rule for the site when a general laborer order is really construction work.
Can I ask a laborer if they have a car?
Ask instead how they will get to the dispatch point or site for the start time and what their backup is. The point is whether they will arrive on time every day, and asking only about car ownership can screen out reliable people who use a ride or transit.