Schepisi Seeks Permanent Solution for Temporary Workers

Introduces Legislation Protecting Employees without Jeopardizing Industry

Senator Holly Schepisi today introduced legislation that would protect temporary workers and the agencies that employ them from the detrimental effects of another bill that could soon be on its way back to the Governor’s desk.

Schepisi’s measure, modeled after a recently enacted law in Massachusetts, creates important protections for workers without strangling New Jersey’s staffing sector with burdensome red tape.

“As early as this afternoon, the State Assembly could vote to adopt the Governor’s conditional veto of legislation that threatens the stability of not only staffing agencies but the businesses that depend on them for short-term workers,” said Schepisi (R-39). “This is an extremely flawed bill, and the Governor’s veto doesn’t come close to mitigating some of its most problematic facets.”

A-1474/S-511 passed both houses earlier this year without the support of a single Republican legislator. The measure’s heavy-handed mandates on agencies would be difficult – if not impossible – for staffing firms to satisfy, Schepisi said.

“With the current economy, we’re in no position to enact laws that will put people out of work,” said Schepisi. “An effort to shield workers from harm would end up hurting everybody – costing workers their jobs, driving temp agencies out of the state, and leaving seasonal businesses that need to hire temporary labor for periods of peak demand with no place to turn.”

The bill introduced by Schepisi today safeguards temporary workers without destroying the temporary sector in the state or forcing the jobs and opportunities into the shadows, where worker abuse can flourish.

“I have a commonsense alternative that everybody can live with,” said Schepisi. “A similar law enacted in New England has been well-received, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t follow that example.”

Worker protections in Schepisi’s bill would include requiring temporary staffing agencies to provide:

• The name, address, and telephone number of the staffing agency, its workers’ compensation insurance carrier, the worksite employer, and the department in which the employee will work.
• A description of the position the employee is to fill and whether the position requires any special clothing, equipment, training, or licenses (as well as any costs charged to the employee for supplies or training).
• The designated pay day, the hourly rate of pay, and whether overtime pay may occur on the job, as well as daily work hours and the expected duration of employment.

Also, temporary staffing agencies would be prohibited from collecting fees for registering for employment services; the cost of a bank card, debit card, payroll card or other form of payment; criminal record requests; or transportation expenses required by the staffing agency.